Going To Ruin?
by ZombieGuy96
Summary: The Sequel to No Going Back? Clementine and her friends have successfully taken over Howe's Hardware and live there peacefully. But all good things in a world this cruel and unforgiving can never last and survival soon becomes so much more difficult, when everything and everyone is seemingly Going To Ruin. (Rated M at certain parts)
1. A Dream?

**A/N- Welcome to the sequel of No Going Back? If you're coming across this story for the first time, go back and read No Going Back first (and the Spoils Of War, if you're into happier stuff and want to see what the characters have been up too) anyway I hope you enjoy this sequel to my first work and without further ado I will begin this story...**

* * *

_"In A Cavern, In A Canyon _

_Excavatin' for a mine..." _

Clementine's head felt heavy, the black tendrils of her growing curly jet black hair were drenched in something she couldn't identify, a resounding pounding noise seemed to seep it's way back into her being, as she scrunched her hazel eyes shut once again and tried to remember something...

_"Dwelt A Miner, forty Niner_

_And his daughter Clementine..." _

"Ugh..." she groaned, she could feel the dry vomit seemingly caked at the back of her throat, as she opened her eyes once again. Everything was a blur too her, but things were starting to come into focus, she could see a faint orange tinge along with dancing shadows across her line of vision.

_"Oh My Darling _

_Oh My Darling _

_Oh My Darling Clementine..." _

A noise, somebody was making a noise. Singing? Was it singing? Could she hear her name in the song? Who was singing? She couldn't remember... her head still hurt, yet things above her seemed to sharpen... the orange tinge dulled slightly to reveal a canvas of black and caramel brown above her. Were they rocks?

_"You were lost and gone forever" _

She blinked rapidly, the white noise that had previously filled her ears was ebbing away, she began to become much more aware of her senses now. She was somewhere damp. As well as dried vomit, a copper like substance coated her cheeks, a small droplets of cold sweat ran lines down her face. Leaving clear pathways in the crusty dried blood that had resided in every crease on her skin and clothes.

_"Dreadful sorry Clementine" _

She inhaled sharply, pain ringing through her body and shaking her bones, as she moaned in agony. She couldn't move, she was aching from every bodily pore and there was so much blood. But she wiped the blood onto her cheeks. Why did she do that? Why couldn't she remember anything else? She wiped the blood on her face? And what? And then what...?

_"Soft she was, just like a fairy_

_And her shoes were number nine"_

She was panicking now, somebody was singing. Their war like tone echoed throughout wherever the hell she was. Clementine knew she was in danger. She knew she had to run. Using every inch of her strength she propelled herself to sit upwards, her hand rested on uneven ground, as chips of jutting creamy coloured rocks embedded themselves into her palms.

_"Herring Boxes without Topses _

_Were the shoes for Clementine" _

Her name echoed throughout the space she was in once again. With this in mind, she made a desperate leap to lunge upwards, she managed to stand for a few seconds on her very shaky knees. Her drooping eyelids quickly caught glance of a small amber light that wavered... a fire. A fire! A camp-fire! A quick glance around her... jutting rocks... a low celling, dancing shadows from behind these rocks... a... a... Cave! She was in a cave!

_"Oh My Darling _

_Oh My Darling_

_Oh My Darling Clementine" _

That damn song again! Some completely black silhouette was singing it. Their voice seemed demonic as it floated through the small cave, causing Clementine to shiver on the spot. But not for long... she felt her knees give way below her, as she hit the ground. Hard. She felt more dizzy as the world bobbed in front of her... but she was remembering now... remembering...!

"No, No, No!" Clementine began to scream, her voice croaky, as she heard the soles of shoes scrape across the rocky floor of the cave. She had to get away! She had to move! She tried crawling... but every breath was like swallowing a thousand knives, pure and utter agony. Tears welled in her eyes as sweat and blood leaked through her rags for clothes... the world was going dizzy again...

No! She couldn't die! Not now, but it was too late. Dark silhouettes were surrounding her on every side. She couldn't make out any faces, or any details. But Clementine felt the first tear fall, when one dark hand grabbed her and pulled her back into the depths of the cave.

"Please don't hurt me" she begged futilely to the figures above her. It was no good, she was dead and she knew it.

Before the world went black for the last time, she heard one, last, inhuman reply that chilled her too the bone.

"wERe fRIenDs RIgHt?"

and in the background, the demon continued to sing, and they uttered the final lines to the song

_"You are lost and gone forever _

_Awful Sorry Clementine" _

The world went black.

Before Clementine yelped and woke up in her bed at Howe's Hardware.


	2. Check-Up

**A/N: Thanking you all! Now get ready to get back upon the feels train as this story kicks off, and I'd like to thank everyone for reviewing! **

**ffapathy- Thanks for another great review! and I can't wait to hear the rest of your opinions throughout this story!**

**guest- Thank you.**

**XboxRainbowDash- Cheers! I try to write horror well and I'm glad to see it pays off!**

**AquaDestinysEmbrace- As always I appericate your reviews, and I love the fact you're still sticking by my stories as one of it's most loyal followers, so I can't wait to hear more from you! **

**peaceloveheavymetal- All the awesome-ness here! Seriously though cheers for the review **

**Emily Carver- Hello, glad to see you back, and your reviews are very poetic in a way, so I love reading them! **

**A Writer With Mixed Intrests- Can't say too much about the dream, but it was there for a reason. Anyway thanks for your review!**

**Obsessed naruhina fangirl- It's fine, I love your reviews anyhow no matter how long they take. And (did you notice) that the last chapter was (in a way) meant to give the thumbnail for Episode 4 a reference. (In the dark, blood on Clem's face, surrounded by silhouettes?) same with No Going Back? referencing episode 3's thumbnail (with Rebecca giving birth with Clem by her side) anyway I can't wait to hear more discussion ideas from you in the future! **

**Rebloxic- Thank you! and as for your question... I think both of them will become "Omid's" Jane and Kenny both have their big flaws and are both Determinant (dead in my eyes, due to the determinant treatment of Nick and Sarah) hence why I was happy to go for the alone ending. As the only survivors of Season 2 (in my eyes) are Clem, AJ, Mike and Arvo. (Cynical, I know. So I hope Season 3 is a bit lighter as Season 2 got too depressing at times and not in a good way)  
**

* * *

Clementine awoke, her heart hammering against her ribcage, her skin coated in cold sweat, as she wiped her forehead and her bright eyes slowly edged open.

Her bright hazel eyes pierced into the dark shroud around her make-shift bed in the sick bay. She was in the sick bay, she could tell by the aroma of the place (the stench of the others) as well as Kenny's ungodly snoring. It only took her a few seconds to calm herself down once again when she realised that she was safe. She was home.

She was surrounded by family.

It had been 10 months since they had taken over Carver's base. 10 whole months. It was November when they took over the hardware store and now it was mid august. With this in mind, the moist 2006 summer Tennessee temperatures were naturally high enough to make any human being sweat through layers of clothing. But too Clementine the usual layer of perspiration did not explain her rushed heartbeat, or feeling of dread whenever she moved a muscle.

Yet this period of unease faded quickly, the dream she had soon ebbing from her memory, as she wiped her hand through her short black curls and lay back down on the make-shift bed below her. Her best friend Sarah was sleeping peacefully next to her, Clementine felt her lips curl upwards as she laid down once again. She was friends and family, she was fine...

_"Were friends, right?" _

Looking at Sarah, Clementine remembered that phrase, having announced it the first time they had met. It was an innocent phrase.

So, why did she get a prickly feeling on the back of her neck when she thought about it?

She soon fell back into her slumber, forgetting her dreams and fears completely.

* * *

"Come on, get up!"

Sarah. Who else would it be?

Rubbing her eyes, Clementine yawned as she slowly crawled from her bed, pulling the blue blanket off her petite form, she extended her outstretched hand, until it clamped around the familiar end of her trademark cap, with her cap in her small fingers she placed her father's gift onto her head as she smiled at herself.

Just another day at work.

Slapping into some clothes she had worn before (they didn't have a lot of clothes between them, but not that anyone was complaining) she walked slowly across the sickbay and too where Sarah was waiting for her.

"Did you sleep well?" Sarah asked of her.

"Yeah, so what are you doing today?" Clementine asked in her "Monday morning" grumble, as Sarah walked swiftly towards one of the more comfortable make-shift beds in the sick bay, as Sarah inhaled slightly, before ploughing into her schedule.

"Well... Sarita and Kenny need their bandages changed. So me and Wyatt have to do that today" She informed the younger girl, as the burly form of Mike passed by them. As Mike walked off to go talk to Bonnie (today was the day they had to remove the walkers from the trenches) Clementine responded to Sarah's general small talk.

"Seems pretty crappy. I mean, how bad do they smell now?" She asked, as Sarah shook her head slightly "Well... you get used to it after a while. It still looks gross though" she said in a neutral tone. Readjusting the black rimmed glasses on the edge of her nose, she looked down at her younger friend. Before two familiar faces approached.

"Well, how are my two favourite girls this morning?" Kenny asked in a jolly manner, as he seated himself on the bed with Sarita trailing him, as she made out a fake tutting noise.

"Honestly Kenny, I thought I was your favourite girl" She mused.

"No, you're my favourite woman Sarita" Kenny responded, (as loved up as ever) as Sarita giggled at him giddily as she burned a crimson red colour. "Oh you and your words Kenny..." she laughed, they had been through the process of having their bandages removed so often, the process hardly bothered them any more. Yet there was one big issue for using up these medical supplies.

"So Clem, me, Eddie and Randy were thinkin' of scoutin' the area, to find more meds and food and all that. We might need it, just in case things get hairy, not that I'm saying they will, I mean fuck we've been here nearly a year. I think..." Clementine herself could only stare, as the dregs of positivity coming from Kenny's mouth were not something a pre- Howard's hardware Kenny would say. Yet Clementine knew that this was just like his boat. This store and Sarita... those two things gave him an aim. A purpose. And when Kenny had a focus he was a brilliant man.

But the focus was fading, the happy exterior now was going to fade when the store did. Clementine wasn't an idiot. Luke and her had stayed awake for hours at a time recently trying to keep supplies spread out evenly over the large population. Lucky scouting missions to nearby towns and general lucky finds in abandoned camp-sites had turned up an array of meds to keep them going. (For food they had the greenhouses, and they had freshwater) but meds were running low. They had already run out of alcohol and cigarettes.

Cleaning materials had run low as well and water itself usually didn't clean clothes, metal or the hardware store very well. (As well as the people in it) hence disease was always a threat, whenever anyone got a cold... Luke never took any chances. He maintained to the others it was nothing serious. But he kept a close on the sick person never the less. So far there had been no epidemics and recent scouting missions to nearby towns showed them to be stripped bare of supplies.

Luke tried his hardest. Clementine would support him. In the past month or so, they had been working to ensure the community that everything was fine. That (in Luke's words) "yeah, were lackin' on cleanin' supplies and other accessories, but we have meds, we have food and water. So we will be able to survive here. There's no need to panic. We've all had tough times, but what remains our top priority is not to work together and keep the community here running" Luke had been big on making sure no one had any major fallouts.

It had been ten months, Kenny and Lilly simply avoided each other. (But it beat arguing) Sarah was slightly more comfortable around Lilly now that enough time had past. Everyone else was fine. Randy, Patricia and Gill fit into the hardware store, like a well fitted glove. Each of them had a role to play (Randy as a guard, Gill and Patirica were helping medics. And Patricia was the group's hairdresser, she had scissors and past experience, that was all).

"... so we were wonderin' if you could talk to Luke about it" Kenny was saying. As Clementine was dragged from her thoughts and back into the murky present. She blinked a couple of times, before grounding herself and nodding at Kenny's statement "Yeah, I'll talk to him about it" she muttered, as Kenny smiled at her "Good girl, it's nice to know we can count on you" he complimented her.

Clementine saw through his light hearted lies. What he was really asking... no not asking. It was plea. A plea from him to do something. Anything that could continue to tend to himself and Sarita (and anyone else if they got ill. Particularly baby AJ) and what was worse was looking into his bark tree brown eyes and knowing that he knew this as well. Yet he would stubbornly hold out and fight until the very end.

_"It's Over Clementine" _

No, it wasn't. Clementine ensured that Kenny would never utter those sad words again. He was not going to die in a church after giving all hope, she had changed that. She had saved nearly everyone with the second chance she had been given. It wasn't over, she departed the sick bay with that plea in her mind. She'd mention it to Luke. Whether he agreed to it or not would be a different question indeed.

But it wasn't over. They were just struggling with supplies. Everyone these days would be struggling with supplies.

They were fine.

* * *

Passing the hanger door, Clementine heard the familiar southern drawl of a certain redhead float to her ears.

"Hey Clem, want you to bring back at McDonald's for you?" Bonnie asked in light humour, with Mike in her shadow, the van they used filled to the brim with drenched water corpses from the little moat they had made around the hardware store. The smell was horrendous to Clementine, burning them was one job she could live without.

"Yes Please" Clementine responded in her cutest tone and trained "puppy dog eyes" that she had made to AJ (taught by Rebecca and Sarita).

Bonnie grinned at her remark, while Mike chuckled, before he inhaled and muttered "Man I would eat the shit out of a big mac, I wish Luke could produce some of those" he told a giggling Bonnie. Clementine had to roll her eyes at the obvious sparks between them. They had been very secretive about the state of their relationship but everyone (Clementine included) had clocked on there was now something between them. Yet they hadn't made it official for some reason, like Sarita and Kenny or Vince and Kelly (as Sarah and her were unfortunate to discover one afternoon after opening a closet door).

"Hey Clem, speaking about Luke giving us things. Could you do us a favour?" Mike asked, as Clementine interest was aroused, she looked up at Mike, but it was Bonnie that spoke.

"Look... the truck's running low on fuel and we were wonderin' if Luke could give us a bit. A couple litres should cover us for the next couple of weeks... but I swear the amount of walkers only seems to grow each day..." Bonnie was rambling. To Clementine this was a sad truth, she thought the walkers would die out in this area. But they always kept coming. Just an endless swarm. Clementine sometimes seriously questioned how it was possible that there could be so many.

"They have to die out eventually" she tried to think positivity. But so far the flow never stopped.

And in the end the dead always won.

"I'll tell him to ration some to you, don't worry about it" she reassured the duo. As they both smiled down at her.

"Thanks Clem" Bonnie mused, before they turned on their heel towards the truck ready to burn stacks of walkers bodies, only to be replaced by even more. Clementine sighed and looked up towards Luke's office, too many requests were being sent to him. Lately he was getting stressed out and avoiding the others. Many assumed it may have still been the whole "Jane" thing. But Clementine knew he was recovering from that. Luke and Clementine were the only one's who knew how low their supplies really were. The "Jane" thing was a façade for Luke's behaviour.

Obviously there were still periods where he would grieve for his lost love. But the stresses of running such a large band of survivors was the main reason.

Clementine approached Luke's and her own office with each resounding footstep.

"Dreading it?" came the voice of another old friend, Clementine whipped around to see Lilly standing there. There was no point of lying to Lilly, no doubt Clementine's dread was etched all over her face, so with this in mind she nodded.

"Thought so" Lilly responded before she continued "Trust me, his going to stressed about it. The best thing we can do is support him and assure him his making the right choices" Lilly told her, as Clementine looked over at her. "You had no support when Larry died" she said to Lilly.

"I know, that's why I snapped. Don't make Luke, make the same mistake" Lilly warned her, before the elder woman departed to work on a rusty barricade. Lilly and Clementine were now "cool" in Lilly's words. Lilly wasn't the biggest social butterfly ,but there was no doubt she would protect the group with her life. Clementine had forgiven her. and recently (with her prior experience of leadership) Clementine sought out Lilly for advice on how to handle Luke when he got stressed out. The two girls had bonded over such sessions (Lilly also still kept a ton of hair bobbles for her and Sarah if they needed any spare).

"Well at least Lilly can give me advice and not another demand" Clementine thought, as she passed the lone form of Stephanie with her guitar in her hand. Stephanie was also pretty cool. Letting her, Gill or Sarah play with her guitar whenever she got lazy, she wasn't too sociable yet Clementine guessed she had her reasons for staying slightly too herself. And she discovered why Stephanie was walking outside when she turned the corner.

Alvin Junior was walking on the shiny floor of the store. Supported by Rebecca (now that they were out of cleaning supplies, she sometimes served as a guard, but most times as a full on mother) Alvin Junior at 11 months had grown into a chunky baby. With darker coloured skin, if Carver was the biological father, Clementine could hardly tell, because he looked a hell of a lot more like Alvin than he did. Yet Alvin Junior was William's Carver's son for one reason.

Alvin Junior had his green eyes.

No one (particularly Rebecca) liked this fact. But that was that. Rebecca still loved her son dearly, as it was now becoming clearer the child was of mixed race, as his skin was a shade lighter than Rebecca's (add that too his eyes). Yet everything about Alvin Jr still reminded Clementine of Alvin himself. As he seemed to have Alvin's hair somehow and something about Alvin Jr's face too... it was just like Alvin's.

Around the little, slowly walking AJ, Patricia, Gill, Randy and Eddie were surrounding the child. "Blow a raspberry!" Gill asked of the gurgling infant.

"Gill don't be rude" Patricia scalded him, as Rebecca cooed to her son "Oh, who's gonna be a big strong man. Huh? Oh yes. you are! You are...!" Clementine watched this scene in happiness before moving on. Rebecca nor Gill's family spotting her as she wanted to leave them to her own thing, they were having a good time. She didn't want to spoil it. She guessed Stephanie didn't either. She guessed Stephanie saw what her child could have been and didn't want to soil the mood there. Or be reminded of the baby she aborted. It seemed to hit her hard.

Clementine' wondered, if sometimes things (such as Jane's death, or Stephanie's abortion) were things you could never truly recovered from. Yeah, you lived through it. But the event never left your mind. For her Lee's death, Omid's death... they never left her mind. What about Kenny losing Kajtaa and Duck? Did they ever leave his mind? Most likely not. They were all scarred.

Different people just handled grief in different ways.

Before she ascended the staircase to Luke's office, she passed Vince and Kelly, the two of them held guns. But as soon as Vince had spotted her, he blurted out with a question.

"Hey Clem, you going up to see Luke? (she nodded) good, because me and the other guys were wondering if he could use some of the ammo left to restock our guns. Cause we had to shoot a through walkers that got past the moat..."

"Yeah, yeah" Clementine responded, as the smiling couple moved onwards. She liked Vince. But she didn't like the way he would sometimes antagonize Luke. Luke was a great leader and he didn't need Vince to try and tell him how to lead. She knew Vince cared about the group, but she just preferred Luke as a leader. Yes Vince was level headed. (and probably more stable than Luke) but she could not see Luke give up his position. He was the glue that kept the group together. He knew what to say at the worst times.

He knew how to put others before himself, no matter the consequences for himself.

Now with ammo low, Clementine climbed up the staircase with more jolly news. The door to the office opened and a earth covered Nick walked out. Carrying a large potted plant he peered past the lush green leaves to look down at Clementine.

"Hey Clem" was Nick's greeting. Again he wasn't a social butterfly but a very loyal friend and someone Clementine knew she could trust. He had thoroughly enjoyed caring for the group here and getting them the food they needed. He and Sarah remained very close and he was always there for Luke. They had been friends for over 20 years so they had a lot to discuss. After his chats with Nick, Luke would be seen in a better mood.

"Hi" Clementine responded, as she prepared to enter the office.

"Careful, Luke's kinda stressed this morning, so don't push any of his buttons" Nick warned, as he cautiously proceeded down the staircase, only to nearly go flying when Eddie jumped out at him screaming "BOO!" startling the hot headed man so much, that Nick bellowed "ASSHOLE!" and began to chase the trouble loving Eddie around the store. As Eddie laughed his head off. Okay, Nick wasn't a social butterfly, but Clementine loved it that (recently) he was getting closer to a dorky Wyatt and Eddie who shared his love for guns and general dorky-ness.

Clementine smiled at this, as Nick picked up his plant once again and chased Eddie with it. But the fun couldn't last, she entered Luke's office with a heavy heart.

Luke looked up at her, his greeting of "Mornin' Clem" was the same as always. The office looked pretty messy, Luke's chestnut hair's stood on many differing ends, the black bags around his eyes had grown heavier. The 27 year old seemed to have lost some of his previous bulk due to lack of food, he didn't look to peachy. But then again, that's what leadership could do to you.

"Luke, there's been a few issues..." Clementine said in most "I'm sorry for you" kind of voice. As she leapt straight into the topic and described what stuff the others needed. Luke listened in silence, when Clementine finished he simply placed his face into his outstretched palms and breathed in and out deeply. As if he was trying to control his emotions. This continued for a few minutes.

"Luke?" Clementine called out nervously.

He seemed to regain himself slightly, pretending not to notice the red around his eyes, or his watery globes Clementine remained silent, as she allowed Luke to speak. "Want, want, want, that's all they want from me. Wanting this, wanting that... wanting me to screw up and doom the group..." he seemed to be rambling more too himself than Clementine, with a concerned cough from Clementine. Luke seemed to blink and regain himself completely.

"Oh... erm... sorry Clem. Yeah I'll get round to it" He said in a more merry tone, as Clementine seated herself. She knew full well what this was. This was him trying to keep everyone else positive. To stop Clementine from worrying. But Clementine was worrying... about Luke himself.

Yet she remained silent. She knew Luke would brush off her concerns, she knew he wasn't in a heartfelt mood. The pair of them did have heartfelt chats in the past, but this morning wasn't one of the times. They had jobs to do.

Luke said he needed to go to the toilet mere minutes later. As he left the room to the toilet, Clementine noticed that he seemed to be sniffing. She remembered finding Luke in the restroom last time (she didn't want to go into the men's room, but Luke was sobbing to loudly for her to ignore him).

No doubt this time, he would learn to cry quieter.

He didn't want the group to worry.


	3. From Russia With A Little Love

**A/N: Okay, onto chapter 3! Glad you guys are liking this so far! **

**Rebloxic- Yeah, seems to be a lot of love for Luke recently.**

**Chameishida- Glad you're looking forward to things to come! I reckon in this chapter the story will start advancing, as I have big plans for this story and have certain "big events" planned in my head. But how to get to these events... is something I'm still planning. **

**ffapathy- Loving your observations as always and I'm glad you pointed out how Luke is dealing with his grief because that's exactly how I imagine his character dealing with such events (in contrast to Lilly) and the issues you brought up about infighting and running out of supplies and the elements, was a valid one. People may be stubborn to leave but it would have to happen eventually.**

**A Writer With Mixed Interests- This is the walking dead, shit will always hit the fan. Never the less cheers for your review! **

**Emily Carver- Hmm... a love interest for Luke? I have some ideas in my head for that, but I don't think romance is my strong-point added to the fact that Luke deals with his grief internally so it would be very hard for him to open up to someone who would become his love interest (at the store, or as a new addition to the group) either way I'll consider the idea...**

**and finally thank you AquaDestinysEmbrace for your continued support!**

**P.S. Remember this is an AU, so things have changed slightly and characters may be somewhat different, as they are in different groups and are explored more. **

* * *

Faded, misshapen scraps of fading black rubber, had nestled themselves into the growing undergrowth of the north Carolinian pine forests. These particular tiny pieces of man made material were barely noticeable as they shrunk and decomposed, as they were exposed to the elements.

And right now more of these bits of rubber were slowly falling onto the forest floor, falling slowly like autumn leaves as they found their death beds on the forest floor. The worn tyres of which this bits of rubber had originated from, were now rolling past, as Bonnie and Mike drove their truck across the state border, the weights of a dozen walker corpses making the trip slower and longer process than it should have been.

Upon crossing the state border, a rather bored Bonnie uttered "Don't feel like were movin' states, does it?" this question was aimed at the strong African american man, situated to her left, who was clutching the steering wheel. Mike's caramel coloured iris' were peeled on the dirt track ahead of him, beyond the rather dirty windscreen, yet despite his concentration on the road, he managed a reply.

"No, but at least there ain't any electric fences or any of that shit"

Bonnie chuckled at his remark, as Mike smiled and focused on his blurry reflection in the dirty glass. As he did so Bonnie sapphire orbs locked themselves on the never ending pine forest to her right. She sighed and leaned against the window, this layer of thin glass was separating her from this dark and dangerous forest. Yet... she was _longing_ for the freedom that the forest brought.

Hearing her sigh, Mike decided to ask "Hey, you alright?" at which Bonnie's eyes fluttered back at him and she managed a weary smile "Yeah... just..." she inhaled before deciding to tell Mike _some_ of the things that were bothering her at this moment in time... "Well..." she began "It's just everything ain't it? Were runnin' low on fuel, our cleanin' supplies are out. I don't know how much longer we can sustain ourselves back there" she summarised as Mike nodded.

"I know, were gonna have to find a new WLS, (Walker Landfill Site) you know one closer to home to save fuel" was his answer. Bonnie muttered a wordless grunt of agreement. Yet the problem was still evident.

"That would save us time. But eventually Mike, were gonna have to bring it up to Luke" She uttered, as if she were commanding a man to death row. This time it was Mike's time to sigh. "Bonnie..." he began, his voice (like his patience) was thin "...Luke is not gonna take it well. The guy could snap at any minute and telling him that leaving the store is the right thing to do? He'll fucking lose it, I mean Jane died for us to gain this store and for us to leave it..."

"We've been here nearly a year Mike. We've had a good run, but we all knew we couldn't hold out at Howe's forever" she told him. As Mike quickly muttered a response to explain himself.

"I get where you're coming from Bonnie and I agree... honestly!" (this response was provoked by Bonnie raising her eyebrows at him, after she did, he ploughed on) "But what I'm trying to say... is that Luke ain't going to take it well. No matter how we tell him, I'm just wary of the guy" Mike finished, as Bonnie eyes rested on the pine trees once again. She didn't speak, but she was thinking... thinking about Luke.

_"You're beautiful you know?" _

Luke had lovingly whispered these words to Bonnie, before her dry lips met his own. Their first kiss and they shared a few more afterwards. The whole thing only lasted a few weeks, before Luke ended it, as Carver had clamped down on his group and he ended it for her safety. Besides, he had moved on (literally) while she had stayed behind. Why? She could have gone with him. She could have carried on that relationship. But the truth was... she didn't "chicken out". She was heartbroken about him ending the relationship and in spite had refused to go with his group.

It was selfish of her and she knew it the second they had left. In those few weeks of the relationship she had butterflies in her stomach thinking of Luke, even in the weeks afterwards she still got those butterflies, swirling in her stomach as she pictured his face. When they finally reunited, she knew she had to cover her inner feelings for him. He had moved on with Jane and so had she with Mike.

And yet... why was she always trying to get his attention?

She had stood up for him when Vince had berated him on his leadership skills, she offered to do more work for him to lighten the workload he faced. Yet ever since Jane had died the two of them had never had a full conversation, it made her edgy. It made her think in some way that Luke blamed her for Jane's death. Other than that short conversation they had when working on the barricade (before Jane), _"Were cool right? Were friends now, right?" _he had said, while Clementine was busy moving walker corpses behind them, they hadn't discussed their past relationship at all. Yet despite this, she still remembered feeling the sparks between them mere moments later, (broken with a very audible cough from Clementine).

She wasn't going to jeopardise what she had Mike, because she still felt a little giddy over Luke. She just wanted to help an old friend.

Yeah, that was it.

She felt her pale palm, tighten around Mike's larger one, as the burly man looked over at her, as he pushed down on the brake of the truck. They had reached their destination, as the faint hum of the engine died as he gazed over at her, and then on their interlinked hands.

"What's this for?" he asked bewildered.

She grinned like an idiot and muttered "I dunno... just thought... it would be real nice" she trailed off when the silence from Mike grew too loud causing her to shrink in embarrassment, as she finally started giggling and gasped "What?"

"You're real strange sometimes Bonnie" he muttered, yeah his lips curled upwards into a smile, as his eyes twinkled. Bonnie loved this about him, that at one minute he had could be a fierce, intimidating looking man, who would fight fire's with his bare hands. Yet moments later he would use these same hands to caress her face, she loved him. She knew she did. And when their lips met in that murky truck, she knew she didn't want to pull away as she felt her cheeks grow warm, but then she felt his large hands move downwards...

"Oi! No hanky panky fire boy!" she teased, as she wriggled from his grip, as she smiled and opened the door to the truck and muttered back at him "We've got a job to do" she told him sternly.

"Didn't stop us before!" he yelled back in a cheeky manner, as Bonnie felt her cheeks burn once again. This would have been so romantic... if she didn't open the back of the truck to met with a tidal wave of stenches, that caused her nose to crinkle and eyes to water. "No matter how many times... you never get used to it, do you?" he muttered.

"Nope" was Bonnie's deadpan reply.

* * *

Chucking walker corpses into a scorched ditch had given Bonnie and Mike more muscle, as the process was daunting yet was great for their health. (exercise wise, in terms of hygiene however...) what made it worse is that many bodies were still damp from where they had been rotting in the water... Bonnie was glad that she and Mike always got the best clean up after such drop off's. (Luke's idea, they couldn't risk spreading any sort of infections around) still the job was still a gross process. But as long as she was with Mike... she could do it.

"Always my favourite part" Mike gasped, out of breath, as he lit his lighter. They usually doused the bodies in oil to speed up the process, but now their supply of oil was running low, they couldn't do that any more. Instead they slowly watched as the remaining damp fabric on the walkers bodies somehow set alight, and this spread to the next body... and the next one... luckily this was something of a clearing, as no trees could catch fire. It had been a somewhat dry summer and the duo didn't want to burn down the forest.

"Well, at least their at peace now" Bonnie said quietly looking into the glaring orange tongues that consumed what was left of the rotting flesh, of things that were once people. This part may have been Mike's favourite... but to Bonnie she always felt sombre... how long would it be before she was a pile of rotting flesh being burnt away without much thought? The thought chilled her... yet she tried not to think about it.

_"Y'all think too much Bonnie darlin', it's like a cuckoo's nest in that little head of your's. It won't do you much good" _

One of her mother's wiser phrases, (drug addiction claimed her, when Bonnie was in college. Bonnie fell victim to her mother's problem as well) yet she still had a habit of over-thinking things. Yes, she was observant but her own thoughts were long winded and drove her crazy sometimes... that's why she liked someone like Mike. Someone who was laid back and could put her own thoughts to rest, she tried to burn away her worries... by gazing into the flames and leaning her head on Mike's shoulder as the simply watched the corpses go up in flames.

Mike stroked her hair, as he mumbled "Reckon we should let the group know were an item already?"

"I think they already know" was her response.

"I know, but we haven't made it official or anything. Some people might still be doubtful" he replied, resting his chin on the top of her head, as she snuggled closer to him.

"Well let em guess, let's keep it between us, makes it more fun that way. Whenever Rebecca or Sarita asks I just say maybe... I don't see the need for all this drama or official dating business" Bonnie told a beaming Mike. She said this as he shared a very similar mindset, they loved each other. Who gave a damn what the others said or thought? These happy thoughts flooded Bonnie's mind as she able to relax...

They stayed like that for a while, before the roar of the flames grew too loud and Mike suggested they head back to the truck. Bonnie agreed, the two had just stepped back into the truck, when something caught Bonnie's ears.

"What was that?" she asked of a blank faced Mike.

"What was what?" was his dumbstruck response.

"Listen... you can..." she stopped there and they both heard it clearly... gunfire... and shouts... approaching them at an extreme speed. Both of them paled, in 10 months they hadn't come across any living person in the woods. Yet now (without any warning) suddenly some of them were approaching.

They burst onto the scene, as sudden as you like. A heavily tattooed bald man, followed by another brown haired man, both of them were firing viscously into the tree-line behind them. As a blonde woman helped to support a teenage boy with glasses as they stumbled towards the fire, a tall black woman covered them, as she fired into the tree-line behind them. Bonnie and Mike watched in awe, as they bellowed insults in a foreign language.

"VITALI, BURICKO NET NICHEGO ZDES!" The blond woman yelled gazing at the fire, as the two men turned towards the fire. The bald muttered a curse in Russian, before the tall black woman's eyes suddenly found the truck, she saw Bonnie and Mike frozen at the wheel. There was no time, Bonnie felt her heart sink into her stomach as the woman aimed her pistol at the pair.

"DON'T MOVE!" She yelled, as her and the four people behind her turned to face the truck, "Oh shit... shit..." Mike was muttering, they had no guns on them. The Russians along with the black woman who spoke in English were sprinting towards the truck. Bonnie and Mike placed their hands into the hair, as the African american woman opened the door to the truck on Bonnie side.

"We don't want no trouble, we swear to God..." Bonnie began to mutter, the woman looked angry, yet she didn't seem to be listening to Bonnie.

"I don't give a shit! Just drive! For God's sake get us out of here!" The woman was screaming, as the men took cover behind the truck and began to fire back into the treeline.

"We'll give you a lift as long as..." Mike began to bargain before the woman cut him off. "There's no time! I don't care if you fucking make us slave away or anything! But let us in and we'll repay you! Look we'll discuss it later! For now we need to go!" She was saying in utmost urgency, as Bonnie began to ask "What are y'all running from..." but she received her answer mere seconds later.

A storm of bullets suddenly ripped the exposed half of the truck to shreds, the blonde woman screamed and dragged the teenager with glasses inside of the truck, as well as herself, as the black woman screamed something at Russian to the other two men. As Mike began to gear the truck to life...

"What the fuck... what the fuck...?" he was gasping under his breath. As the woman and the younger male cowered on the floor next to him, as a grief stricken yell of "BURICKO!" shot through the summer air. Bonnie saw the bold man fall to the floor, a bullet through his head, as the man who had yelled it, bent double over his friend's body. Tears falling from his eyes...

"Fuck!" The woman swore, as she leapt from the truck, Bonnie felt the truck move when she did... yet she could now see that figures were emerging from all sides... no not figures... walkers... _walkers with guns!_ Her heart seemed to fail, as they fired upon her...

The bullets rang across the door of the truck, as one of the windows smashed, causing Bonnie to scream in terror, as the she felt the air around her quiver as bullets narrowly missed her skinny form. "DRIVE!" She screamed at Mike, who put his foot down on the pedal... at the last second the black woman dragged the grieving man into the truck... she slammed the door shut, as the truck accelerated forwards and back onto the dirt path...

Bullets still rang from the back of the truck... as the walkers fired into it. Mike's face was drenched in sweat as he peered ahead of him, eventually when the sounds of the bullets faded, he finally managed to gasp "Everyone alright?"

"Yeah" Bonnie replied, as she looked around at the others... no one appeared hurt. It was a bit of squeeze having this many people at the front of the truck, yet no doubt they were simply happy they were alive. No one was bleeding, they were pale and shaken no doubt but all alive. As the African american woman seemed to speak on behalf of her group.

"They mostly speak Russian, but they know a bit of English and I know a bit of Russian. So I play translator. All of us would... like to thank you for getting us out of there" she told them, as she pointed at the group "Anyway, that's Arvo and his sister Natasha" she referenced the blonde woman who was still sitting next to the boy with glasses. The woman seemed to be mutter an uncertain "Hi" to the pair.

"Hey yourself" Bonnie replied, she knew she shouldn't have been friendly with these strangers... but maybe they were good people... she could hope at least...

"And this is Vitali" the woman said, pointing to the man to next to her. He didn't say a word, instead his eyes were trained on the grey floor of the truck, Christa seemed to read Vitali's thoughts as she murmured sadly "The... man we lost back there was Buricko" she seemed to close her eyes before she regained herself.

"So what was that all about back there?" Mike decided to ask, to move the topic onwards.

"Give me a minute and I'll explain, we all just need to... regain ourselves, we won't shoot. We might not look it, but were not bad people" the woman said as Mike nodded "Take your time" he told her kindly, as the woman thanked him, as soon the truck was filled with the heavy breathing of Mike and Bonnie and these Russian strangers, and this woman... who spoke as if she were from the San Francisco area...

After around a minute, Bonnie decided to enquire a little further "Don't mind me askin' but you ain't Russian..." she began as the tall woman smiled up at her.

"No, I got separated from an old friend and eventually I came across this group here. Hostile as hell at first... but after all these months..." she smiled before, she decided to ask a question "So... you are?"

"Bonnie, and that's Mike" Bonnie told her, a bit wary of giving her name to these strangers, but they had given their names and gaining friends in the apocalypse was always a plus. You needed people to watch your back.

The woman grinned and muttered "Nice to meet you, the name's Christa" .

Bonnie suddenly felt she should have remembered that name... someone had mentioned it before! It had set an alarm bell ringing in her brain... in fact so did this whole Russian group! She know she had heard of them before... why couldn't she remember them now!?

The truck drove on, back towards the hardware store with these new survivors. The chips of black rubber falling from the tyres made a trail in the undergrowth. A trail that could be very easily followed...


	4. Back Onto The Sinking Ship

**A/N: Okay, a lot of you guys seemed to like the last chapter, it will be a tough act to follow, but I hope this chapter does justice! **

**Rebloxic- Glad you liked the chapter... and as for Arvo... I don't feel like he was a Ben. After his sister died I can understand his motives for wanting to get revenge on the group and Clementine, and I hated him for it. However that's the problem... as a villain he didn't make me question my decisions at all. Compare that to the stranger, and how he makes you think about every decision you made within season 1. Also Arvo hardly had any build up as a villain, two brief appearances in episode 4 and then half of episode 5, hence (although I get his motives) he is turned into a villain too suddenly. Whereas you steal the supplies from the stranger in episode 2, you learn Clem is speaking to him at the end of episode 3, he menaces the group throughout episode 4 and in episode 5 it's your goal to get to him and save Clem. Compare that too Arvo... and you can see how he falls a little flat. **

**Bubbles2k100- Luke and Christa? I like these two characters as well... especially Christa as I feel she is the unappreciated hero of the walking dead. Looking after a little girl who was responsible for your boyfriend's death for 16 months... I do have a lot of respect for her and have plans for her throughout this story. **

**Emily Carver- Yep, things are going to change... but for better or worse?**

**Transformers g1's- Prime- Thank you! I'm kinda glad I wrote the sequel now as well. **

**BlackGalaxyStars- Thanks for your review! I liked that you picked up on the tyre's thing as I tried to be smart and make the metaphor that the pieces of tyre were like the people at Howe's... going to ruin as they are exposed to the elements... and being followed and hunted.**

**ffapathy- as always I'm loving your observations and theories, a siege or group on the run? Both sound great... but I can't reveal what happens just yet...**

**Chameishida- A lot of reviewers seem to think the russians died in the last story... but I'll try to explain that more this chapter and give the russian group a dynamic and a purpose in this (now) very large group.**

**and thank you to ShadowCinder333, FunFX2012, AquaDestinysEmbrace, A Writer With Mixed Interests and PandyPeeps for your reviews!**

* * *

Stephanie yawned, as she leant back in wooden chair that she had placed by the moat surrounding the hardware store, for now the murky water inside the moat lay still and untouched. The soaring blue sky and white hot sun on that august noon, were ideal conditions to get many people feeling drowsy and Stephanie was naturally quite lazy, so she found herself slowly dozing off in her uncomfortable chair.

"Man, it's glad to be out here you know?" she mumbled lazily to a nearby watchdog. Stephanie turned to the rotting man, only to find her response as untranslatable garbling, as his rotting hands scratched and tore at the empty air around him. The chain holding him in place was stretched straight, Luke had to cut his losses and put down a few watchdogs as the chains were needed with construction... however a few remained... and lately Stephanie sought out their company more than that of people.

"You know, you're kinda cool to speak too. You don't speak back, you don't judge me, hell you could be my therapist" she told him, as the walker continued to reach out to her, but she was at a safe distance from him. After watching the walker struggle for a while, she finally sighed...

"I'm speaking to dead people. I am losing it" she muttered to herself, as she tried to regain her focus on the pine trees ahead of her. But these long shifts of being on guard, bored her... she could strum on her guitar... but that wasn't enough.

She was afraid.

Of what? She wasn't going to lie to herself, she was probably the most attractive woman within the group and sometimes the guys eyes would trail her... she knew full well they weren't bad people. Or that they wouldn't force themselves on her... but she was still scared. Because she knew if she went inside and spoke to them, they would grow on her. And eventually she would grow on them.

Eddie, Wyatt, Nick... those were the three dorky guys she was closest too. Being men, there was no doubt they had needs and maybe they did have a crush on her...

_"LADIES! SEE THIS AS A MESSAGE TO YOU! YOU HAVE A DUTY! IN THIS WORLD WE NEED TO FOCUS ON MAKING THE NEW GENERATION STRONGER THAN THE CURRENT ONE!" Carver was bellowing this at a downtrodden Stephanie, the blood of her lost newborn still coating her skin, as he spat and screamed at her. Everyone was watching from the sidelines, while she sat the spotlight... exposed._

_However four words that Carver had shouted, still haunted her._

_You have a duty! _

A duty? Never had such words made Stephanie feel like a piece of meat more than they had. and even though Carver was long gone and dead... did that really change the situation? Sarita was Kenny's girlfriend. Rebecca became a mother through Carver's beliefs on the next generation. Kelly was Vince's girlfriend. Patricia was Randy's wife... Clementine and Sarah were still too young for any of that dating business. Bonnie was with Mike now (everyone knew, even if they didn't say)... Jane had been Luke's girlfriend.

Only her and Lilly were single.

Was that really her only purpose? To pleasure men? She understood in an apocalypse that everybody needed somebody to comfort them. But was that all? Was that why she wanted to learn to play guitar in the first place? To prove to everyone she was more than a pretty face? Is that why she hadn't been a relationship since this whole thing started? Is that why she stole supplies and ran away after the group voted to kill that man? Did people going to ruin scare her? She seemed to find her answer... when people did go to ruin. They changed. Carver started out a nice man, but his mental health declined and he raped Rebecca.

That could have been Wyatt soon. Or Eddie, or Nick, or anyone.

A breeze ruffled her growing bangs, as she hid her face behind her black curtains of hair. She used to be outgoing, but after losing her child, losing Shel... she couldn't let that happen to her again. She couldn't get attached to anyone. Watching Rebecca holding Alvin Jr, she couldn't bear it. That could have been her holding her child.

She could have been Rebecca, burdened with a baby. How easy would it be for Alvin Junior to die when shit hit the fan?

Looking from the store from the outside, she could see the slowly rusting metal and shoddy barricades. No matter how hard everyone tried, it wasn't enough. She could see the sinking ship before her own very prominent icy blue eyes.

It was time to jump ship.

She had done it before (and failed) but now she knew she had to grab whatever she could and leave. Not instantly, but maybe in a few weeks. She knew she would probably die alone and unloved, but she would rather die, than end up watching people she loved die. She was already dead inside.

She was a bad person. She had tried to be a good one.

A very sudden crashing caught her attention. She wiped her head around to find Bonnie and Mike's truck, come to a screeching halt in front of the moat. Alarmed by it's sudden appearance (particularly because one side of it was riddled with bullet holes) she leapt up from her garden chair and towards the truck.

"STEF! GO GET THE RAMP!" Bonnie yelled, from out of a smashed window. Stephanie wasted no time in getting the ramp, she also noticed that there appeared to be new faces in the truck with Bonnie and Mike.

Luke wasn't going to like more mouths to feed. Hence she dreaded it when she lifted the walkie talkie to her lips and muttered "Luke... we got a situation..."

* * *

Bonnie had noticed that the Russians had stayed silent for the rest of the drive back to Howe's, they were all in shock no doubt from losing their friend. Christa told them that Buricko was "one of the family" and that his death had hit the other three (and herself) quite hard.

"Were sorry about your loss, if we'd have gone earlier than..." Bonnie began as Christa shot her down.

"No, don't worry yourself. Besides Buricko couldn't keep out of a fight. At least he went out fighting those fuckers..." Christa seemed to inhale deeply, as Bonnie muttered "So... Christa? Who exactly are these fuckers?" upon asking this question, Christa wiped her growing black fringe from her damp forehead and dived straight into an explanation.

"No idea what they are called, or any of the fuckers names. But their some mad cult that go around in walker skins, they ask anyone they come across to join their little club, and if you refuse..." she finished there, there wasn't a need for any further explanation.

"So... if we just say yes to them, then we'll be fine?" Mike asked in light humour, as Christa seemed to chuckle lightly "Oh believe me, I don't fancy joining a cult like that. I don't think you'd come back from wherever they take you, added to the fact they kill anyone that refuses their way of life..." she sighed and ran a through her knotty hair.

"We have been running from them, long time" Natasha suddenly piped up, in broken English. Bonnie wasn't aware the younger blonde woman was listening in on their conversation.

"I got caught by a group of bandits" Christa began, as Bonnie and Mike's gazes directed at her, "I was being kept prisoner... because you know what bandits in the woods want from a woman..." she paused before continuing "anyhow, we came across that cult, the bandits I was with call em fucking crazy and... fuck. It was a bloodbath. I slipped away from the carnage. I was alone for about month or two after that... before I come across this house on the other side of this river..."

Everyone's heads were now perked up in interest, as Christa retold her story.

"These, big scary russian group comes out. Takes me prisoner as per expected. Tie me up and all that... but after a while, they started treating me different. Giving me bits of food and all that and I start teaching them bits of English and... I started to trust them. I didn't think I could ever trust anyone after all the shit I've seen... but still..." she smiled at her Russian group.

"Christa is very kind, she teach us English. We teach her Russian" The teenager (Arvo) was saying, peering at Bonnie through his large glasses in curiosity.

"We began to lose friends" Vitali suddenly seemed to pipe up in his deep grumble of an accent. Many heads turned at this, as Bonnie nor Mike expected the grieving man to speak. Yet a lot of bad memories seem to bubble to the surface as he spoke in a saddened tone.

"Everyone... friends... lovers... parents... Buricko... all from big group we had. All gone. Killed by cultists mother fuckers" Vitali spat as his eyes seemed to burn in rage. But his voice seemed to soften when he spoke next. "Soon, only us left. Crystal become family..."

"Christa!" Natasha corrected him, as he gave her the ghost of a smile.

"Buricko and Vitali always call me Crystal and not Christa, they think it's quite funny and it's kinda stuck now" Christa explained to Mike and Bonnie, as they simply nodded at the nicknames in this odd little group. As they did so, Mike leaned forward in his seat.

"Almost there" he muttered.

"Do you people have medication, Natasha has..." Arvo began to speak up, before Natasha quickly (and harshly) shushed him. Christa and Vitali fixed Arvo with hard glares. These sort of looks told Bonnie that this was something between them and that she was out of the loop.

"Sorry, what was that?" she decided to venture forwards, dangerously close into their business.

"It's nothing, Arvo just gets concerned about his sister. We don't need meds were all okay" Christa told Bonnie flatly, Bonnie still noticed that Russian group were gazing at each other. Their lips thin, their bodies tense. Bonnie felt the tension in the truck sky-rocket. Without a shadow of a doubt Arvo had let something slip there. Something that the rest of the group wanted to keep in the dark, Bonnie thought it best not to enquire, but she found her eyes naturally rolling in suspicion towards Natasha.

She didn't look sick. But, you could never tell.

"Were here!" Mike announced, as they all found their eyes strained to silts, as the glares of the sun were very powerful on this fine august midday. You wouldn't think something horrible had just occurred on such a peaceful day. (Well if wasn't for the smashed window right next to Bonnie, causing a breeze to cool her skin as they drove) chips of square like glass were still scattered across her knees and on the floor.

The truck was a mess. But as long as it could still drive, they were fine.

A nearby Stephanie approached the torn truck, the urgency in Bonnie's voice when she announced to go and get the ramp registered with Stephanie. As the young woman sprinted off back into the store. She caught a quick glimpse of the new faces and would no doubt be informing Luke about it.

"Just be nice and we might only get you slaving away for 23 hours a day" Bonnie told Christa cheerfully, as they opened the doors to the truck.

"I'm touched" was Christa's sarcastic reply.

* * *

For Clementine it had been another dull day in the office.

Luke had returned to the office after going to the bathroom for a full hour. "I took a long number two Clem" was his cheery excuse. Clementine was forced to accept this as he seemed to be in a better mood and when he was, she let him work away. She herself, was bored by sorting out the exact number of bullets needed in each gun.

"Can't you get Nick to do this? his an expert in guns and all" Clementine whined after half an hour of staring at the paper in front of her. She seriously thought she was going to drive herself insane if she didn't get out of the office soon. (Maybe Luke needed this as well)

"Aw, come on Clem. It's maths! It will do your brain some good" Luke told her.

"My brain feels like jelly" Was the miserable response from a droopy eyed Clementine, Luke looked up at her, she noticed how prominent the bags under his eyes were becoming. "You know, I do miss Jelly" he said in a feigned intellectual voice.

"Shame" Clementine replied, before a idea suddenly popped into her head. With a devilish smirk, she got up from her desk and said (with urgency) "Hey Luke, there is something I want to show you on the roof!" Her enthusiasm stirred Luke to look up at her again.

"Ah... I can't Clem. I got stuff to do" he said gesturing at the papers on his desk. But Clementine was stubborn, she wouldn't take no as an answer. With this in mind, she used her two tiny hands to grab one of Luke's larger one's and began to tug him away from his desk.

"Come on..." she moaned, as she tried to pull at the unmoveable form of Luke.

"No Clem..." Luke said with a faint smile.

"Come on, I just wanna show you this, then I'll let you get on with your work" Clementine begged.

It took a few more of these plea's to finally get Luke to stand up and tall and groan "fine" at a cheering Clementine who dragged him off, up the stairwell and too the roof, she told Luke to "Close your eyes" as she dragged him forward across the empty room. (Kenny and guards on the roof were having lunch at the minute). Luke blindly felt his way forwards.

"You're not going to chuck me off the edge are you?" he asked Clementine in faint humour, as she led him forward.

"No, just sit here" she instructed, Luke curiously sat cross legged on the edge of the roof. "Now open your eyes" Clementine told him.

He did so, he was planted at the edge of the roof, his eyes absorbed the bright green pine trees ahead of him, the bright blue sky above him, as well as the snow capped mountainous in the distance. It was a clear day, where the hum of insects and wildlife was as loud as ever. Luke seemed to lay back slightly.

"It's real relaxin' up here, but where's the surprise?" he asked of Clementine who sat next to him.

"This is the surprise dummy" she said, lying down on the roof and absorbing the warm rays of sun and breathing in the fresh air of the forest.

"What, the view is the surprise?" he muttered confused, as Clem sighed and corrected him "No, you're outside. Rebecca and Nick keep telling me you spend too long cooped up in the office, they think a little fresh air would be good for you" she informed him, as he smiled and shook his head. Muttering something Clementine's ears didn't pick up on. But when he next spoke, she heard his question alright.

"What about you? Do you think I should be out here relaxin'?" he asked of Clementine.

"Yes" was the bluntly honest reply, that made Luke laugh for some reason. "You're always so childishly honest you know?" he told the 11 year old, who simply told him to "Just lie down and relax Luke".

He did so, hours of being propped up in his chair had done his back no favours. But relaxing his body now... he felt somewhat at peace. Yet his mind was still buzzing.

"Clem, what if...?" he piped up as Clementine snapped at him "Don't speak! Were having a silence contest as of now"

"But..."

"Ah! No speaking" Clementine snapped at him.

"Fine" Luke replied, his competitive spirit kicking in, as he lay down next to Clementine.

For an hour or two, he laid still. In the summertime silence with Clementine, slowly the worrying thoughts began to ebb away from his mind, he didn't realize how close he was too sleep. Until he found himself struggling to stay awake... he couldn't help relaxing. The hum of the wildlife... the warmth of the sun on his clothes... and having Clementine next to him. A girl he knew he loved as a little sister. Or these factors combined made him more relaxed than he had been in a while.

"This is real nice, I didn't even realize how wired up I was before" Luke finally muttered, in a much more deep, relaxed, tone of voice.

"Ha! You lose!" Was all Clementine could say, before the pair of them laughed at this fact. Luke was glad to have Clementine and not have any...

"Luke? We got a situation" came Stephanie's voice from the walkie talkie in his pocket. Clementine's face fell, as she knew this meant nothing good. Putting on his more serious voice, he pulled the walkie talkie from his pocket and uttered into the device "I'm here, what's up?"

"Bonnie and Mike are back, someone's been shooting at the truck they have. It's still working but torn up. And I saw some new faces in the truck as well"

This caused both Luke and Clementine to look at each other in awe. It had been 9 months since Randy, Patirica and Gill had arrived. And in 9 months these were the first new people they had come across.

"How many of them are there?" Luke asked.

"Four from what I saw" Stephanie replied.

"Okay, I'll be down there in a few seconds, Luke out" He said as he put down his walkie talkie and turned to Clem. "Tell everyone on the PA what's goin' on. We need everyone to know we got new people joining us" he instructed, as Clementine went to PA, somewhat sadly.

She had just gotten Luke to relax as well.

* * *

"Attention! Attention everyone!" Clementine's small voice carried across the store as everyone's head shot upwards at the sound of a PA announcement.

"You are all to proceed to the south hanger door. There are new arrivals joining us today" she concluded, the outbreak of chatter and curiosity instantly engulfed the store. As everyone seemed to sprint towards the south hanger door, eager to see these "new arrivals".

Clementine reached the bottom of the stairs, to have Kenny shout at her "Clem! How many of them are there!?"

"Four, I think!" Clem shouted back, as she ran towards the south hanger door, Clementine easily cut under the growing crowd around the door, and managed to squeeze herself out into the car park. She saw Bonnie and Mike standing next to the newbies... 3 of them she knew she should have remembered. She got a dreaded feeling over Deja Vu when her eyes cast over them. But in those few seconds she couldn't place who they were.

Besides, her eyes found the fourth newbie. The one Luke was speaking too currently. Upon seeing her again Clementine's world seemed to stop.

How?

She didn't care, she didn't want the answer. All she knew is that she was here. She was back and nothing could make Clementine happier than seeing another old friend returned to her.

"CHRISTA!?" She bellowed at the top of her lungs in happy disbelief. Christa head snapped up upon hearing her name being called, it sounded like... but it couldn't have been... she looked up and saw the all too familiar cap... it truly was...

"CLEMENTINE!?" was her response, disbelief spread over all of her features, as Clementine bounded into her old friend, Wrapping her arms around Christa's waist, almost to ensure Christa was real and not a hologram image. As she did so, the reality of the situation hit a still shocked Christa, as she found herself laughing hysterically, and hugging Clementine back.

"Oh My God, I thought you died. I thought you died! I am so sorry...!" Christa was weeping in joy, as she felt like an old part of her life had been returned to her. She had always assumed that Clementine had died in the woods back there, but now... suddenly here she was. Alive and well... Christa... couldn't get over her happy reunion.

And it was about to get better for her. She felt a long finger tap her back, she turned around.

"Boo! Guess whose back from the dead?" Kenny asked teasingly, as Christa's jaw hit the floor.

"K-ke- KENNY!?" She exploded in a mad sort of joy.

Here they were, Clementine, Kenny and Christa, three people who had been together beforehand and had been through so much. Clementine was reunited with the two people who had come to save her with Lee.

Maybe the past wasn't such a distant memory after all.

And through the happy reunion, Clementine knew she felt good.


	5. Blasts From The Past

**A/N: I'm glad you guys enjoyed the last chapter! and this chapter will deal with more pressing issues, so expect some fireworks this chapter!**

**ffapathy- Loving your observations and opinions, and I'm trying to get into the mindsets of as many characters as possible. So you understand what type of people they are and what they are about and what there aims/likes/dislikes are. and I agree with you on the russians, their presence was only placed in to make Arvo grieve for it later. (and evoke a bit of sympathy for Arvo) and then he shoots clem and then... plot arc over. Clem is shot, but survives... so what was the point in having Arvo there then? They should have stuck with Carver's guards or even the 400 days cast to make it more dramatic or more meaningful, then having one- dimensional villains suddenly pop up with little to no build-up.**

**ShadowCinder333- That phrase made me laugh "Oh no. Something good is happening" you were right in a sense, as the good is always followed by trouble, but I'm glad you liked the clem/luke rooftop scene.**

**NN009- Yes, there will be trouble when Clem recognises the Russians, but I'm glad you're enjoying the story and thanks for adding me to your favourite author's list!**

**Chameishida- Thank you for reading and keep your great reviews rolling in as It makes my day to read them! And yes, the reunion of Clem-Kenny and Christa was something that was great to write about. **

**Rebloxic- Glad you liked the reunion, and If it happened the game I'm sure my reaction would have been similar.**

**Transformers g1's prime- Well, I'm glad to have made you smile this chapter. I hope my stories can evoke a lot of reactions from the reader and keep them interested in the story **

**Bubbles2k100- Glad you're liking it and as for that question... I can't answer it at this point, (as I'm still uncertain of the whole plot at this point and things may change) but when I do get the full plot sorted, I might PM you with ideas on where the story is going and see if you approve (or what others would make of it) **

**and thank you to AquaDestinysEmbrace, FunFX2012, A Writer With Mixed Intrests and emilyrose727 for your reviews!**

* * *

Clementine had always assumed that Christa had died in the woods, sometimes however she would look out from beyond the wooden barricades of Howe's hardware and imagine that her old friend was still out there, in those still pine trees, Fighting and surviving, yet Clementine assumed (after 10 months of absence) that Christa had been killed by the gunfire she heard when she fled from those bandits. The one bandit she had found at the river afterwards looked pretty beat up and in his silence she assumed the worst had happened to Christa.

Now, suddenly, miraculously, here she was. Alive.

She knew she would get an explanation later, but for now all she could do was bury her face in Christa's t-shirt and celebrate that by some odd magic means her old friend had been returned to her. Who was next? Would a beam of light shoot down from the sky and Molly would descend from it? Maybe followed by Lee and Omid who had returned from the dead? Followed by Pete, Carlos, Kajtaa, Duck and Ben...

She was getting overexcited and thinking the impossible, she knew this of course. But she was still only 11 years old and her childish imagination (at rare times, could run rampant) like it was now. So she embraced Christa tighter, cherishing every minute this sweet bliss would last. Apparently Christa was thinking along the same lines, as she managed to weep deliriously to Kenny "But... just... Fuck! Kenny how...!?" in response to this Kenny only chuckled lightly and muttered deeply "Clem asked the same question she saw me, It's a long story" he explained to her.

"How did you survive?" Clementine's question came out as a high pitched shriek of excitement and was directed towards Christa, as the African american woman wiped her eyes and sniffed slightly to regain herself. "Well... like Kenny said, it's a long story but I have a few people to thank for it" she gestured to the three almost forgotten figures behind her. But before Clementine could get a look at them, Luke stepped forward.

"Christa huh? Clem's been telling me about you. Been lookin' for you all around, I think it's safe to say, if you were the one who looked after her for god knows how long, you and your group are more than welcome to stay here" Luke told her kindly, as Christa beamed back at him. "Well, I appericate that" she replied, before continuing "and I assume you've been looking after her?" this question was met with a very audible round of laughter from the leader of Howe's.

"Lookin' after her? I'll say she's been lookin' after us!" Luke mused, as he gave his name to Christa, and his position of leader of "Leader of this place, along with Clem" to which Christa, shocked reply was "Clem!? You're leading these people!? (she turned back to Luke) You let an eleven year old take charge..." she began to rant as Clementine could only smirk at the hot water Luke had landed himself into. Christa seemed to be ranting on like a natural mother towards Luke, as Kenny humorously muttered to Clementine "She's just jealous of how badass you are, don't worry".

Clementine looked up at him, "She still hasn't _seen_ the obvious, you'll have a million stories to tell regarding how badass you are".

Kenny (not as thick as a sack of nails, Kenny) picked up on the pun and responded with a "Yeah, I'm surprised Christa didn't ask about that, seemed like she has a _blind spot..." _

"I'd say her _eyes will pop out of her head,_ when she learns about it"

"I dunno Clem, I'd still say she'd be pretty _short sighted_ about the whole thing..."

"You two clearly need to keep _your eyes peeled_, when you speak like that" An approaching Sarita mused, butting into the conversation, doing so Kenny wrapped his large arm around her shoulders, before correcting her, by stating "Nah, hon I need to keep my _eye_ peeled, not my eyes"

The trio laughed merrily at this, spurred on by the laughter breaking the tension in the air, Sarita encouraged Kenny to help introduce herself to Christa, in which he agreed. Christa was currently being introduced to a babbling Sarah. Who beamed down at the innocent aura Sarah seemed to emit, as she babbled on about something that no one was really interested in. Suffice to say, when Sarita approached, Christa was glad to be introduced to someone else. (her first impression of Sarah had been positive, but the teenager seemed a little overexcited).

"Hello" Sarita ventured, as she and Christa shook hands. As Kenny watched over the proceedings and commented "Sarita, this is Christa. She's an old friend of mine and Clem's. Christa this is Sarita, my girlfriend". The two gazed at each warmly, as their hands broke apart. "Nice to meet you, Clem has told me about what you have been through when she mentioned old friends, I am very sorry for your losses". Sarita sympathised to the taller woman.

Christa seemed to go frigid for a few seconds, before she shook off those feelings and regained her composure "Don't be, what's past is past. Besides... Kenny?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, as the Indian woman laughed at Christa's remark "It is the longest story of them all" she told a smiling Christa.

Clementine soon became lost in a crowd of curious survivors, that wanted to introduce themselves to Christa. She heard Eddie mutter to Wyatt "That's the second person who Kenny and Clem have known who has just shown up out of the blue. Who wants a bet the rest of their group is the woods some where, ready to walk out on a catwalk once a week to introduce themselves..."

"A catwalk dude, seriously?" Was Wyatt's reply, as Eddie mock counter argued "Hey! Just because it's a zombie apocalypse, doesn't mean fashion ain't important...!" to which Clementine rolled her eyes and proceeded towards these "people" Christa was with. Luke was speaking with the somewhat attractive blonde woman in her early twenties, another brown haired man, was trying to introduce himself to Randy, Patirica and Gill. But he seemed to be having difficulty.

"Woah, so you're really like... Russian!" Gill was piping up, to the somewhat blank looking man. Now that Clementine looked at him... he seemed slightly familiar. And he spoke in a low Russian grumble, as he tried to translate his mumbles to understandable English. It suddenly seemed to hit Clementine...

Russians!

"Hey Clem! Say Hi!" Sarah was babbling excitedly, as she dragged a teenage boy towards her. His clothes were different but that was all. He still looked as if he had difficulty walking on his leg, his glasses were still cracked. His hair was a dull shade of brown and lay as flat as pancake on his pale forehead, and his steely grey eyes were the same as they were before.

"A... Arvo!" She gasped before she could stop herself.

Arvo looked down at her confused, but Clementine couldn't help it. He was here... that god-damn liar was here! He was alive! Why wasn't anyone complaining!? Why wasn't Kenny going nuts!? She wanted to grab the nearest gun and shoot him just as she had done the first time! It was his fault Mike, Bonnie and Luke had died! She may have been given her second chance, but the only thing she didn't regret doing the first time, was shooting him dead with no remorse...

Her second chance.

No one was complaining because they never met him, they had stayed at the hardware store. Clementine and Jane had never encountered him. Kenny wasn't going nuts because Arvo had done no wrong to his group. Mike, Bonnie and Luke had been spared there untimely ends in the gunfight because Jane and Clementine weren't in the area at the time. Clem's remaining group had never been ambushed.

She never actually thought about the effect this would have on the Russian group themselves. If they had never met Clem, then they carried on with their business, they had met and saved Christa somehow... but how? It suddenly made Clementine realise she hadn't only just saved most of her own group.

She had saved Christa and these three Russians as well.

"Excuse me, but how did you know my name?" Arvo asked her in his broken English. Clementine had to rack her brains... Arvo was evil, he was a liar, a coward... or was he? Had Christa mellowed him? Had Clementine's second chance indirectly given Arvo and (Clementine realised when she looked at the other two) that other man and his sister "Natasha" as she overheard, a chance to redeem themselves. Were they really "bad" people?

"Well?" Arvo enquired, one of his bushy brown eyebrows cocked upwards in confusion, towards the silent 11 year old.

"Um, I overheard it, I wanted to know if it was right... anyway I'm Clementine" her introduction seemed awkward, yet Arvo took her hand and shook it anyway and said "Nice to meet you Clementine..."

_"I wish we could have met differently, you seemed very kind Clementine" Arvo had told her in a past life._

"Well you got your wish Arvo, just as much as I got mine" Clementine thought, as Sarah told Clementine "Arvo's 18 Clem! His near enough my age! We can be friends, right?" she excitedly told a rather unnerved looking Arvo.

"Um... yes" Arvo muttered rather uncertainly, digging the sole of his foot in the floor and training his light blue eyes on the gravel floor of the car park. Clementine couldn't help but internally laugh at this. Sarah could be a bit overbearing... especially towards new faces, but that's what made her so likeable, Yet Clementine didn't want to see Sarah get hurt...

"You've only just met him Sarah, you don't have to be instant friends" Clementine decided to speak out. As Sarah whipped around to face her.

"I know that, I'm just saying that we can be friends, over time, right?" she enquired of a still fidgeting Arvo, as he mumbled a response that Clementine couldn't decipher. Yet as he did this, an angered bellow from the right, gained Clementine's interest as a very unnerving "FUCK YOU!" In broken English was roared across the sweet summer air. Only to be met with a similar response from a voice belonging to Nick.

"FUCK YOU TOO!"

A thumping noise was followed by this, Sarita gasped and just as Christa was being introduced to Rebecca and baby AJ, their heads whipped around at the commotion. As Natasha screamed something in Russian and tried to separate the brawling pair, Clementine had no idea how, or why this had escalated so fast. But all she knew is that a hot headed Nick had once again lost his cool. Thankfully Mike and Luke managed to drag Nick's form from the other man, who Clementine learned was called "VITALI!" From one of Natasha's screams.

Natasha used her body to hold a fuming Vitali back, while Luke and Mike both grabbed one of Nick's arms to keep him from swinging his fists. After a few seconds of silence, in which Nick and Vitali glared openly at one another (Nick with his nose and lip bleeding, and Vitali with his his lip bleeding and a black eye, Nick had grown more bulky over 10 months hard labour, and this other guy seemed fairly built up too. Hence there was no clear "winner" of this conflict. The end result was just two very pissed off guys, shooting daggers at each other).

"NICK! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!?" Luke roared, rounding on his oldest friend, as he released one of Nick's arms. In which the tall man used to wipe the trickle of blood from his lip with the back of his hand. Yet he still glared at Vitali as he muttered darkly "Their not coming in here Luke, these Russians fuckers tried to kill me and Sarah" as he said this, the tension in the air seemed to build once again.

"YOU STEAL OUR MEDS! YOU MOTHERFUCKER! WE NEEDED THOSE TO LIVE! AND YOU STEAL MEDS THAT ARVO TRIES TO STORE FOR US!" Vitali bellowed back in defence. As eyes switched back and forth, as if watching a highly action packed tennis match.

"Oh shoot, I knew I should have remembered, Russians..." Bonnie was drawling, as Clementine had to wonder what on earth was going on. Was everyone suddenly just remembering the past? Or were...

No. That wasn't it. Nick and Sarah came across the Russians. As Sarah had told her in depth during cold winter nights. Her and Nick had come across a Russian group trying to store some meds. They stole those meds, which later saved Kenny and Sarita's lives. As Sarah went on, Clementine knew that group had been the Russian group and Arvo and judging by her and Nick's later accounts on how a Russian group was "shot in the woods, by some crazy cult people" she naturally assumed Arvo's group had died and Arvo and co were soon cast from her memory.

But the Russians Nick and Sarah saw get shot, must have been different Russians to the one's Clementine had envisioned. But the basic situation was that the 3 survivors of the Russian group (along with Christa) were now faced with the two people who had stolen a large bag of meds from them and killed one of their group.

"YOU KILLED DMITRI! YOU STOLE OUR MEDS WHEN WE NEEDED THEM FOR... PEOPLE WE HAVE LONG LOST!" The problem was with Vitali's hot headed explosion of words, was the pause between the people the meds were required for. The ending 5 words of the sentence fell very flat to an observant Bonnie and she clearly saw Vitali's pupils steal a quick glance at Natasha before locking themselves on Nick again.

_"She needs the meds, for some reason" _was the conclusion Bonnie had made in her head.

"LOOK! THAT GUY WAS GOING TO KILL US! WE NEEDED THE MEDS! WE SAVED LIVES WITH IT!" Nick was bellowing back to a hard faced Vitali who was having none of it, and roared some very ugly words back at Nick which turned the air as blue as Nick's very own eyes.

"Vitali, drop it!? What's done is done!" Christa was yelling, as Vitali shouted back at her "YOU WEREN'T THERE CRYSTAL! YOU ONLY JOINED US AFTER WE LOST THE MEDS! THEY WERE VITAL TO THE GROUP...!"

"Vitali, please. These people, offer us food and shelter, we don't want to spoil it, think of me and Arvo" Natasha tried to say softly, to soothe the angry man in front of her. Vitali's eyes found the floor, before finding Natasha's again. He looked over at Arvo, the teenager gave him a shaky nod, as Vitali finally sighed and drop his raised hands, limply to his sides.

"Do not consider yourself forgiven" he muttered darkly to a still enraged Nick.

"Whatever" came the trademark (I'm so hard, so I'm not bothered by this) response from Nick. Which was a cover up, that confirmed that he was indeed bothered by Vitali's words.

"Jesus, you guys. Way to kill the mood!" Eddie exclaimed loudly as if to break the tension. But all that happened was Vitali and Nick to sulk off in different directions, as Arvo turned back to Sarah, his eyes hardened.

"We didn't mean to hurt you Arvo, we swear! We just needed meds... and... well... I'm sorry about your friend" Sarah mumbled to a awkward halt, as Arvo sighed, he seemed to consider something before he spoke again.

"It does not matter, I know you are good people. We lost our meds a long time ago. We lose more people to the cult that has been following us" Arvo said with a faint smile. This was certainly not a reply Clementine was expecting, yet Sarah seemed very happy about it. As she mused openly "You forgive us? Really? Like, really really? Because I can understand if you get like... mad at me..."

"I forgive you Sarah, it is not your fault" was Arvo's reply as Sarah squealed happily and hugged him quickly. Poor Arvo was now looking more uncomfortable by the second, yet what Sarah brought up next was something Clementine wasn't expecting.

"Did you say you saw a cult? Because me and Nick saw a cult in the woods that were dressed up in walkers..."

"You saw them too!?" Arvo yelled in surprised, as Sarah nodded vigorously, Clementine could only watch in silence, as Arvo and Sarah chatted away about this "cult in the woods" that shot anyone who refused to join them. She listened in on the grown up's conversation.

"Yeah, we just lost a guy back there to this cult... no there are loads of them! No... no... no... they are crazy, crazy as hell... well I think they have a base on the hills somewhere... Yeah we've been running from them for a while..." Christa was saying to the group of people surrounding her, she looked like a celebrity hounded by the press with endless questions. Clementine digested the chunks of conversation that she overheard about this cult she had not seen as of yet.

What she learnt was disturbing, there had to be around 100 of them at least, they walked around in walker skins (no doubt to avoid getting bitten by the real things) they had a large base somewhere on the hills or mountains. They seemed to have a hell of a lot of supplies, ammunition and food if they managed to chase down Christa's group for weeks on end with no struggle. Clementine was curious to see this "cult" herself. Lilly had seen them, the Russians, Nick, Sarah and Christa had seen them. These people seemed like a growing threat and as a co-leader Clementine needed to know how to handle this threat and help Luke with it.

She quickly glanced at Luke. No doubt, 4 new mouths to feed, along with this new "Walker Wannabe" cult as Nick had nicknamed them were two new problems bound to cause him more stress. Too Clementine, walkers always seemed like the common enemy to every human, whether bad or good. Apparently the way this cult acted and looked like walkers themselves as they killed anything different from them. While turning others _into them. _

The only difference was, these walkers had brains.

Clementine doubted a moat would be enough to hold these_ "walkers" _back.

* * *

"Christa, Vitali, Natasha and Arvo! We all welcome you with open arm's here at Howe's! We hope you can provide for the community! Luke told the table at large, as there were several cheers at this. It was later on in the evening and Luke had an arranged a "Welcoming dinner, for our new members!". During this dinner Clementine had been strategically placed between Kenny and Christa, as Kenny filled in Christa about his and Clementine's story of survival. Christa was appalled at the cabin's group treatment of Clementine at first...

"You locked her in a shed, when she was bitten by a dog...!" she exclaimed in disbelief towards Rebecca. (The two were quite similar as both were mothers, yet while Christa lost her child, Rebecca had kept her's). Christa did seem overjoyed at the prospect of finding a baby alive in little Alvin Junior, but Clementine wondered if (especially with the name choice being after that of their father) if Alvin Junior reminded her of Omid Junior, would those bad memories of her lost son and boyfriend stir to the surface?

Yet right now, Rebecca replied with "We didn't know if she was bit, Nick lost his mother to a previous bite victim, were made a mistake and we regret it now" to which Christa seemed to accept.

Kenny's retelling of the events of Howe's kept Christa (and the majority of the listening table) listening. Christa on the edge of her seat, as she learnt about the horrible things that had happened and muttered to Clementine "Aw... sweetie..." every so often. Kenny was very vague on touchy topics.

"He took care of Carver for us" Clementine saw Luke go vacant eyed for a few seconds, as Kenny said this.

"She... lost her baby too" Christa looked over at a almost forgotten Stephanie, at the end of the table.

"We, lost a few people while rebelling" some people looked downwards at this (Vince, Stephanie, Luke) as some of these deaths still affected them several months onwards. While Christa asked Kenny about his and Sarita's injuries, Clementine looked around the table.

Natasha was bonding with Randy's family, no doubt they were both newbies and the only one's not here during the rebellion. Even if they joined months apart they shared a bit of common ground. Arvo and Sarah were getting along with each other fairly well, both were laughing and joking together... Clementine had never seen a stranger scene. (nor had she expected it) while Vitali stuck close to his saviours of Bonnie and Mike, who were discussing something in hushed tones.

Christa had been introduced to Lilly "She's the woman I was telling you about in the attic back in Savannah" was Kenny's intro to a glaring Lilly. Their intro was cold and curt, they had both known Clementine and Kenny and that was it. Clementine knew Lilly would keep her distance from Christa until the iciness had melted between the pair, both were strong woman, yet their similar personalities may have caused them to clash.

Right now, Lilly herself was hovering by Nick, by the dark end of the table where you couldn't be seen all to well. Despite some problems concerning the language barrier, the Russians seemed to be settling in okay.

Yet Clementine went to bed that night, not with the most carefree mind. Because the fight Nick and Vitali had, was (too her) just the tip of the iceberg. This Russian group were going to change things.

And maybe not for the better.

* * *

Not a sound was heard from the Russians that night.

Oh no, he was silent, Vitali had known what to do the minute the lights were turned off and everybody went to sleep.

"She hasn't any pills in days, do you think these people have...?" Arvo began to whisper to Vitali, as Vitali nodded. They both stared down at Natasha's form, as she was trembling slightly and sweating.

"Were in a safe place though, we don't need to worry about her cries drawing walkers to us" Arvo told a still listening Vitali, despite Arvo's statement Vitali stood up anyhow and gazed around the sickbay, everybody seemed to be fast asleep.

"Do you want to see your sister in pain like this? and how long do you think this place will be safe?" he demanded of Arvo, (as he spoke in Russian, so anyone who may have been awake couldn't listen in on what he was planning) Arvo's head lowered slightly, he felt pathetic. He wanted to talk Vitali out of this, it was stupid and if it failed, they were screwed.

"Your still upset about Buricko, please sit down and think about this" Arvo told him, also in Russian.

"I have, I won't lose anyone else" was Vitali's reply, he didn't even wait for Arvo's reply as he sprung up and began to walk towards the door of the sickbay "You don't even know where they keep the meds!" Arvo hissed at him, as Vitali's simple answer was that of "I'll find them, trust me" before he left the sickbay.

"That fucking idiot!" Arvo thought to himself, if he got caught then Arvo was going to pretend he was asleep. He, Natasha and Christa has come too far to be thrown out of this place because Vitali was caught stealing meds. Arvo would have to ditch his old friend if it came down to it, he wanted to stay here. Other than that Nick guy and a few other faces, everyone here seemed friendly, especially that Sarah girl. Who was a rare find in a world like this and as much as Arvo found her friendly nature off-putting at first, he had been slowly warming to her. Besides, she was right since when was the last time he had encountered a girl his age? Or anyone his age for that matter.

Arvo waited in silence for Vitali to have gotten himself caught, yet too his surprise, (after around five minutes) Vitali's only smug face hovered above his own. He had a few small pills in his palm.

"Sit down before someone sees them" Arvo snapped.

Vitali did so, he gently shook Natasha awake as her eyes fluttered open, he told her "We got meds for you" in which she didn't seem to acknowledge with words. Instead he simply plopped a small pill into her mouth, which she swallowed with a gulp. Within a few minutes her trembling stopped and she fell back into a peaceful doze. Smiling slightly at getting a comfortable nights sleep.

"That Nick man steal our meds, I'll steal his meds" Vitali muttered to the ground, as he lay next to a peaceful Natasha. Placing the remaining pills in his trouser pocket.

"This isn't about personal revenge Vitali" Christa piped in the conversation suddenly, speaking in the Russian she had been taught by him, along with others.

"It is too me, and about keeping our group safe" Vitali responded.

"You got the right pills for her?" Christa asked.

"Yes, after months of doing this, I know which pills to get" Vitali responded.

"You only took a few? Not a full bottle or anything?"

"I only took 5, they shouldn't get too suspicious"

Christa laid back and smiled, as Arvo decided to speak up "Christa, I thought these were your old friends, surely your not encouraging Vitali to steal from them?" Christa reply was instant and causal.

"Of course these are my old friends and I don't like what Vitali just did. But you're all my friends, I don't want Vitali to be caught out. We should all just try and get along with each other, that's all I want" Christa told the celling above her head as Vitali chuckled.

"That rarely happens Crystal"

"I know" Christa replied sadly, as she sighed and thought about things. She knew things would eventually end in disaster. Kenny had taken her aside after the dinner and told her the non-sugar-coated true version of events that went down in the store and their current problems. They were running low on supplies and meds were something everyone needed. So eventually her group of Russians and her old group would begin fighting each other over meds, along with other supplies.

Add that to the incoming cult.

This wasn't going to end well.


	6. Luke Carver

**A/N: Well I want to thank you guys for your continued support on this fic, and since I'm bored and looking around on-line recently, do you guys know any amazing fan fics I should check out? Either on this fandom or any others? Because I'm looking for something to read to pass the time at the minute (while I write this fic as well) **

**Bubbles2k100- Cynical one liner endings are my speciality! Either way I appericate the fact you love this fic and I'll try and make the supposed decisions in this fic more thought provoking than the last one. (Clem had her future knowledge to guide her last time around, this time she must rely on her instincts and it won't just be her making the tough calls...) **

**A Writer With Mixed Interests- You can say if it was found out they were stealing the meds it would lead to conflict. **

**transformers g1's-prime- A lotta love for Molly here. Will she come back? In all honesty I haven't thought that far ahead and the group is big enough as it is, so my answer is the same as your's right now which is a "don't know". **

**FunFX2012- "Next Time on Telltale's going to ruin" I like the sound of that. I don't think I'm up to scratch with Telltale's writers, but this site's a great help for helping me to improve as a writer as many of the reviewers here always point out mistakes to me and help me clear up my writing. I am thinking (after this story) of doing my own take on Season 3 with an all new cast. Or another walking dead game AU- verse. (P.S. I also had to look up what "salty" meant, I'm out of the loop on that one!) **

**Rebloxic- Lilly and Nick? Minion voice: Whaaaaaaaat? Not something I considered, but then again it beats "Cluke" anyday and they do have a lot in common. and you and ffapathy have differing opinions, it's either LillyxNick or LillyxLuke. There's a lot of shipping's for Lilly out there! **

**ffapathy- I always love your reviews, because in a strange way you almost act as a guide to me, to help me write these fics and the ideas you bring up are always quite clever things that I didn't pick on beforehand. I like you brought up the "debate" and the russians view on it, and if their voices will go unheard. With all this in mind it's going to be hard to surprise you during this fic, (as you always tend to think of all the scenario's that could play out) bearing this in mind, what would you say the most shocking moments from No Going Back? were? Because I want to see what previous events in my previous fic can help shape the writing for this one. **

**Chameishida- Loving your reviews, and I'm not going to let a character like Christa simply... how will I phrase it? Go to ruin in this story, because she has a lot of potential.**

**and finally XXXWOLFLOVERXX glad to see you back and I'm loving your opinions and reviews and don't worry about not reviewing, as I do update fast and AquaDestinysEmbrace I'm loving your continued support and reviews! I appericate it!**

* * *

The august sun quickly trailed into the clear sapphire sky, over the hardware store the following morning. The temperature in Howe's seemed to have doubled, despite the fact that there was only 4 new people in their midst the store now felt overcrowded and the humidity in the sickbay caused many to sweat through their thin layers of clothes. Luke was up first (as per always) sat down in his furnace of an office and began to scribble down the new names on a piece of paper.

Natasha, Vitali, Arvo and Christa.

That now left them with exactly 23 survivors within the store. They were only 23 people, this was half compared to the olden days of Carver when there must have been 40 people at the store at the very least. Yet to Luke, the store felt massively overcrowded, and he knew this would require more food, more rations to spaced out more thinly... more jobs for these people. and more of his own effort to make the Russians feel like they were at home here and not outsiders. Luke knew what happened the last time a leader had tried to make his people feel isolated... by dropping them into a pen...

Well that turned out well for Carver, didn't it?

Yet, as Luke felt the pressure of leadership increase on his shoulders. A curious thought kept running through his mind. "Could he have used the pen again?" it was still there. Barely touched since the days of Carver. It was striped bare of supplies (such as wood from the beds, the portable toilet etc...) but the basic barricade around the pen remained. People could still...

Serve time in it.

What if the Russian group started to start infighting? What if people started to want to escape the store and wanting to jeopardise everything Luke had helped to build? What if...?

Luke suddenly found himself gazing at his own reflection the glass of one of the office windows. His brows were knotted together closely, his eyes were hardened and he was frowning with his head cocked slightly to the left. Carver always use to wear a similar pose.

Luke gasped and wheeled his chair around and kept on staring at the paper in front of him, not writing anything but grabbing fistful's of his hair, as he breathed in deeply, trying to control himself. "No! I'm nothing like Bill! I'm nothing like that bastard!" Luke panted to the empty office, how could he even think like Carver? By threatening to lock people in the pen, just for wanting to escape? Luke knew that Jane had died to gain this place and he knew they would have to leave eventually, But not now, surely?

They could hold onto this place... for a few years maybe? Or maybe longer? They had food and drink and all the basic supplies. They could live here! They could fight off this damn cult, if they could fight off Carver, he could take on a couple of idiots prancing about in walker skins with guns. So what if they had guns anyway? They had guns! They had the high ground! They had a fortified store! It could be defended! Luke would ensure everyone would be fine! Everyone would be together! Anyone that wanted to leave could have been seen as a threat, then more people would want to leave! So maybe Luke would have to lock them in the pen...

The door creaked open, as Luke looked up from his desk, his fanatic thoughts dying quickly in his head, as he saw Natasha slowly creeping in.

"Excuse me, you wanted to see me?" she muttered nervously to him. As Luke put on his best smile, although he could tell by the way his cheeks were going sore, that his smile must have looked strained.

"Yeah, take a seat. I want to know what you new guys did as a previous occupation, should help me pick out a suitable job for you here" he spoke with an easy charisma as he removed his hands from where they gripped strands of his hair. Placing his palms on the desk, Natasha took her seat and looked around the office in awe.

"It's a pretty big place, but you'll know every stone after a day or two here" Luke reassured the nervous woman. Yet when she looked back at Luke, her eyes nearly popped out of her head in horror. As she stifled a gasp and continued to stare (in transfixed horror) at the leader of the community.

"What's a matter?" Luke asked her kindly. Yet the Russian woman didn't reply, it was only when Luke felt the first droplet of blood roll down his nose, did he realize that his scalp was wet. He suddenly seemed to put two and two together, as he lifted his palms from the desk.

His hands were covered in a layer of his own faint red blood, along with dozens of his bright, brown, strands of hair.

He had torn some of his hair from his head.

* * *

The official jobs were soon passed around. Arvo was previously a student so he was sent off to be an additional medic, (in which Sarah's reaction may as well have blown the roof from the store). As she merrily gave a confused Arvo lessons in the medical field, he seemed to appericate these lessons, as he laughed at Sarah's jokes and made a few jokes of his own that had her in fits. She was so busy chatting with Arvo, that she told a bored Clementine that they would "speak later" when Clementine asked her if she wanted to come and play with her and Gill.

"She's with a boy her age, they'll be kissing soon. It's what teenagers do" Were Gill's words of wisdom, (referenced from his father of course). Never the less, Clementine couldn't imagine it. Sarah and Arvo!? Finding Vince and Kelly was one thing, but she always seemed to suspect there was something between those two. But Sarah was Sarah! Sarah liked books and was younger than Clementine at heart! The thought of her getting into a relationship... was just wrong.

"No they won't, Sarah's not like that!" Clementine snapped in Sarah's defence.

"Yeah, but Arvo might be _like that" _Gill teased, as Clementine huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. In a way she had grown protective of Sarah, since that trek outside of the store, her best friend had learned how to survive, but had amazingly kept her optimism. This was the Sarah Clementine had grown to like, the one who was now tough enough to survive in this world (she hardly batted her eyelids at arguments any more, or squealed at the sight of blood) yet she wasn't a cold hearted survivor. She still acted like a child, she was still pleasant and polite to people.

In a way, Sarah was still like an 8 year old Clementine. Before she lost Lee, but after Lee had taught her too shoot. In a way Sarah represented a piece of Clementine's own past that she was unwilling to let go. She needed to speak to Sarah after a stressful day with Luke, her childish nature was a ray of sunshine for the store dwellers who were facing a bleak future. She always managed to put a smile on everyone's face and Clementine didn't want Sarah to be like her.

She didn't want Sarah to grow up.

_She wanted Sarah to stay as herself._

But being around another teenager and the thought of Sarah truly "growing up" was one Clementine didn't like.

"Maybe you're just jealous because Sarah is gonna spend more time with Arvo, then she is with you" Gill summarised as Clementine rolled her eyes.

"I'm not jealous!" she lied (okay, she was slightly jealous).

"Yes you are!" Gill teased once again, causing Clementine to narrow her yellow eyes in frustration.

"She's only known him a day, they might fall out and besides haven't you got a job to be doing?" she enquired of Gill who laid back and muttered "Nope, my shift ended ages ago. I'm free for today so I thought I'd hang out with you".

"Luke says I have to go around and check how the Russians are settling in" Clementine told him.

"Great, I'll tag along then" Gill responded.

Clementine groaned, although the job Luke had given her was a real one, she also saw it as the perfect excuse to get away from Gill. Who was following her around like a lost puppy and it's not that she hated Gill at all. Gill was a good friend of her's... it was just right now she had a lot on her mind. and wanted her own space and Gill's habit to tease her, rarely helped the 11 year old when she got into a bad mood.

Natasha and Vitali were sent to work with Bonnie, Mike and Lilly on fortifying the store, since this "cult" was becoming a more major threat, Luke decided to focus more effort in defending their little safe haven. Clementine and Gill approached the tired and dust coated construction workers. Natasha was rapidly telling a concerned looking Vitali something of high importance in Russian. Bonnie and Mike seemed to be having their own jolly conversation, trying to keep their spirits up.

"Hey, how are you guys settling in?" Clementine eventually asked, stepping forward in-between the two Russians, Vitali and Natasha quickly broke up from their conversation as Natasha coughed and muttered "Oh... yes... we are settling in well. Bonnie and Mike are very kind".

Listening to this, Bonnie held her head back and chuckled at Natasha's statement "They've been golden Clem, not a peep out of them. Well not in English at least" she joked, as the pair of them awkwardly laughed along with Bonnie. It was then that Gill stick his head into things.

"Where's Lilly?" he asked, expecting the moody woman to be with the new construction workers, Mike sighed and gave Gill his answer "She's gone to speak to Nick about something" as Vitali made no effort to hide his distaste when Nick's name when he was mentioned. As he gave a very audible "Pah" of disgust as Bonnie's brows lifted upwards.

"Aw come on Vitali, Nick's not a bad guy, you guys just started off on the wrong foot" she said softly, but Vitali didn't reply with words, he simply glared at the floor, as if it were somehow responsible for Nick's behaviour. A sighing Bonnie simply told Clementine "Obviously there's still a bit of tension around since last night, but other than that, I don't think there's going to be a civil war" Clementine nodded, assured at Bonnie's words.

"So... what are you two talking about?" Gill decided to ask of the two Russians in front of him. Natasha and Vitali gazed at each other before looking back down at Gill. Clementine could almost the gears turning in Vitali's head as he fumbled for an answer that would satisfy the twelve year old and so he produced one.

"We were... just talking about... how big this store is" Vitali advertised with a false smile. Suffice to say this convinced no one, even Gill raised his eyebrows in doubt and the silence soon grew too loud between them all to be ignored.

"Hey Gill, since you're free, why don't you help me be the man around the store and help me lift a few things" Mike offered the smaller boy, as Gill's head lifted in excitement. He always loved proving to Clementine (and the others) his developing masculinity by helping Mike with the "manly" construction work around the store. Sure enough this was an offer even a sulky Gill couldn't refuse.

"Sure" Gill said brightly, as Mike swung the smaller boy onto his shoulders and turned back to the others, "We'll be off then, we'll see you all in a bit" as the others all smiled back at the duo.

"Aw, look at you Mike, you like Gill's daddy, it's so cute!" Bonnie squealed like an excited fangirl, her cheeks slowly turning as red as her tied back hair. As Mike grinned slyly back at her, before departing with Gill on his back, the pair disappeared behind a shelf as the momentary relief in the air seemed to die, as tension once again fell into it's place.

"Bonnie, you do not mind... if me and Vitali talk to Christa, it's about something important" Natasha suddenly asked of the southern woman. As Bonnie's blue eyes widened as she drawled "Sure... I'm guessin' you weren't talkin' about big the store was then?" she enquired of the duo on their blatant lie, as Natasha seemed to gulp before admitting "No, I..." she suddenly seemed to realise Clementine was there and stopped mid-sentence.

"Clem, go check on Lilly and Nick, they've been up there a while, I'm startin' to get a little worried about em" Bonnie told the younger girl, Clementine didn't like being ordered out of this conversation, but she knew Natasha probably wouldn't tell Bonnie whatever she needed too, unless she was out of the way. (and Clementine had a talent of getting things out from Bonnie anyway) so with this in mind, Clementine muttered a sulky "Sure" and departed slowly towards the greenhouses. The Russians were silent until she left the room.

And as for Bonnie, she learnt the Russians were worried about Luke, as he was now "tearing out his hair" according to Natasha. Bonnie smiled and told them not too worry and that Luke was just in a dark place and that he wouldn't do anything, to hurt anyone. The Russians smiled and accepted this, as they went to tell Christa this news. Bonnie was left alone by a half full shelf.

The Russians had entrusted her with their secrets.

But not all of them.

So Bonnie, was being friendly to them, keeping them close, she guessed the old saying really did apply here.

Keep your friends close.

_Keep potential enemies even closer. _

* * *

Nick did not have a good day.

Entering Luke's office that morning, he expected a tirade and he got one.

"NICK, WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT ALL ABOUT YESTERDAY!?" Was Luke's morning greeting, as Nick rolled his eyes and sat calmly down in the seat opposite to Luke's own. He growled out his reply as if it were obvious

"Oh, I wonder why Luke?" Nick snarled sarcastically, as Luke's face grew redder in fury, before Nick finally replied.

"That Ruskie fucker was part of a group who tried to kill me and Sarah!"

"You stole their meds! How else do you expect them to react!?" Luke demanded of a unwavering Nick.

"Luke! I don't give a shit if Clem knew... what's her face...? Look, I forgot her name! But their clearly just a group of fucking bandits! You keep them here, they are going to fuck things up!" Nick roared, as Luke spat back the reply off "You want to leave them out there to die!? To let those fucking cultists kill them!?"

"It would make it easier on all of us" Nick admitted honestly.

Luke seemed speechless for a few seconds, Nick seemed to flinch when he realised he had basically condemned four people he didn't know to death. He suddenly felt pangs of regret all over his body and he began to sprout out some form on explanation...

"I... didn't mean..." he began.

"Save it, you've said enough Nick" Luke snapped, as Nick's heavy eyebrows descended, he was getting more pissed off by the second and the fact Luke wouldn't allow him to speak, riled him up even more. Yet before he could reply, Luke seemed to sigh, the sigh itself seemingly deflating his anger as he spoke calmly when he opened his mouth...

"Look" he began in a chilled out tone, "I know there's going to be conflict between you and Vitali and I can't stop that" he inhaled deeply, before he ploughed onwards "But... I've got enough on my plate as it is, can you please try and not cause more trouble? For my sake Nick" Luke almost seemed to be pleading with him now, but Nick's anger wouldn't bubble away that easily, Luke's tone of voice seemed very patronizing..

"You don't have to tell me this like I'm a fucking schoolboy Luke! I can handle myself, so stop being so damn overprotective" Nick snapped as he rose from out his chair and stomped towards the office door.

"You're all I have left Nick, I can't help it" came Luke's reply from behind him. Causing Nick to freeze on the spot and look back at his friend of 20 years, Luke was bent over his desk staring at the ground. He almost looked as if he was about to cry, Nick felt his stomach drop in guilt, as his gulped uncomfortably.

"I'm... sorry" he managed to get out to Luke.

Luke acknowledged this with a dull "Yeah".

Nick felt terrible as he left Luke's office.

* * *

Returning to the dark depths of the greenhouses was Nick's sanctuary, here he could observe but not be seen, as his hands dug out and picked at familiar plants as he loaded edible fruits into baskets. Berries, apples, Strawberries... all to be consumed by the waiting 20 so people below and around him. He realised he would have to harvest more for those Russians...

"Great, I'm working my ass off for that bastard" Nick thought bitterly, maybe he could slip something into Vitali's stash of fruits, or maybe...?

The door to the greenhouses creaked open, Nick wondered who had come to bother him now. The guards on the roof consisted of Kenny, Eddie, Vince and Kelly and now they had that "Christa" woman to help them. Nick knew that second to actually fortifying the store against that crazy ass cult, that actually having guards to shoot at the crazy ass cult was important as well. He was the food-bringer, others were the medics, other's did other odd jobs. So on this busy day he wondered who would come up to visit him?

He peered over the plants to see Lilly approaching him. A face Nick didn't speak too that often, especially since she shot Sarah.

"I need to speak to you" Was Lilly's greeting, with no "Hi" or "How are you?" to break the tension, Nick knew exactly what this was going to be about. He was working and already in a bad mood. But not angry at Luke, but more angry at himself for how badly he treated his oldest friend back there.

"Fuck off, I don't need another lecture" Nick spat.

If looks could kill, Nick wouldn't just be dead, he'd be eradicated.

"Charming" Lilly snarled, before she continued "But I found it funny you can't forgive Vitali when you could forgive me. When were basically both the same... bandits" she muttered the last word as if it were poison on her tongue.

"Who says I've forgiven you?" Nick asked of her.

"You did, when you let me in here, around 10 months ago" Lilly gave her smart-ass reply.

"Doesn't mean I like you and no way in hell I am ever going to like that Russian fucker" Nick told her, as he dropped some berries into the basket below him, Lilly watched the berries fall in a bored manner.

"Why don't you like me?" Lilly enquired.

"Don't play dumb, I know your filling Sarah's head with rubbish" Nick spat. As Lilly seemed to smile somewhat to herself.

"She told you about the gun I gave her then, on her 16th birthday?" Lilly asked as Nick slowly nodded. "It's not the fact you gave her the gun that pissed me off. I know full well you're trying to turn her into one of you. A cold hearted bitch with no morales, Sarah isn't like that. So stay the hell away from her" Nick warned, as Lilly glared right back at him, her next question was somewhat unexpected.

"How much do you trust Sarah?"

"With my life" Nick replied instantly, thinking of the times Sarah had saved his life on that trek through hell nearly a year back, and all the times he had saved her. Lilly remained silent for a while after the response, provoking a angry response from Nick.

"Well? Are you going to give me damn lecture on why I should be a good person and forgive Vitali!?" he demanded. To his surprise Lilly shook her head.

"How far would you go to protect Sarah?" she suddenly asked of him once again, Nick found this question off-topic, which annoyed him even more.

"I'd give my fucking life to save her's, if that's what you want to hear! Now please just..."

"So, you have a purpose then. Something to fight for?" Lilly was giving Nick the third degree as Nick could only nod his head to make her shut up, yet she didn't as she smiled and muttered "That's good, you know strangely enough I haven't come here to berate you anything".

Now Nick was surprised, but he covered it up by dully muttering "So, what are you here for?".

"I'm here to tell you to keep being angry you, if you carry on the way you are, you will go far and you'll get Sarah far too" Lilly lectured him, as Nick had to dig a finger into his ear to make sure he had heard her properly. He wasn't built to survive in a world like this, Lilly was bullshitting him.

"You're fucking kidding right?" he told a poker-faced Lilly.

"No" she replied sternly "Me and you were similar, we both shot someone by mistake. But we did it because we'd go that far too protect the groups we were in..."

"We fucked up. We made the shot the wrong people" Nick said.

"What if we shot the _right one's?" _

Now Nick was staring at awe at Lilly, as the older woman spoke on, "Yeah, we shot innocent people. But there was just as much chance they could have been a danger to the group. Me and Kenny were butted heads, but we were the only two in our group to make the hard choices. If you're willing to go that far too protect someone or a certain group of people you care about, then you have a purpose and a drive to survive in this shit-hole of a world. Maybe in the past we were too rash, but this place is going to fall. I know Luke's your friend but he is going to snap. You can try and talk to him, but there's no stopping it, trust me. I know." Lilly seemed to be a fountain of knowledge as Nick listened on.

"Me, Kenny... fuck even Clementine have made hard choices. And out of our group were the only three still alive, with the situation going to shit. Don't let your morales get in the way. You protect Sarah, you protect those you trust. Just like you did on the bridge, except this time, your gut feeling might be right" Lilly was now heading to the door of the greenhouse.

"I can't be like that! How is being like that, making you better than a bandit!?" Nick desperately asked of her. As she gave Nick some last chunks of advice.

"It doesn't, but it keeps you alive"

And Lilly was gone. Leaving Nick thinking things over...

* * *

Nick departed the greenhouses a short while later, still mulling over Lilly's advice. His head was so far into the clouds he failed to notice the people around him, and he bumped into someone.

He was about to mutter a "sorry" before he realised that person was Vitali himself, as mutual hatred poured from both their eyes.

"Watch it!" he snapped at the other man. As Nick prepared to walk away, but Vitali growled at him "Watch it yourself... motherfucker..."

"What was that?" Nick demanded to know, turning on his heel, as Vitali squared up to him, the other people on the roof had failed to notice the scenario yet. Clementine was busy speaking to Kenny, while Natasha was busy telling Christa about the situation with Luke.

"I said Mo-ther-fuck-er" Vitali pronounced slowly as he grinned in a sinister manner and muttered "I bet your mother was a whore..."

"Shut up" Nick growled, thoughts of his late mother were a touchy topic for him and if Vitali even dared mutter another word...

"I bet she liked it up the ass..." Vitali teased and Nick fell for the bait, as his fist smashed across Vitali's face, as the Russian man fell to the floor, before Nick was on him, bellowing insults and hitting the Russian man relentlessly...

"DON'T-TALK-SHIT-ABOUT-MY-MOTHER!" Nick roared, as his fists slowly began to coat themselves with Vitali's blood.

As suddenly as it has started it was over. Several pairs of hands tugged Nick off the cowering Russian man, Nick didn't hear much, he was in a daze, he could see people bending over Vitali, to see if he was alright. But other than that nothing registered with his ears, Nick knew there were angry questions coming his way, but he didn't respond to them. That was until Luke face was in front of his own.

"Why?" Luke simply asked, Nick finally seemed to find his voice.

"He... spoke shit about my mother" Nick panted.

"IT WAS AN UNPROVOKED ATTACK! HE IS LYING!" Natasha screamed, as Nick knew that Vitali had lied to the others, probably about how he had just "Jumped on him for no reason" but Nick knew the truth.

"THAT'S BULLSHIT! I DIDN'T DO...!" Nick began in his defence. Yet the evidence was stocked against him, no one else heard Vitali and Nick had taken him down to fast, so Nick wasn't injured, so Vitali's story of an ambush was more believable. and it was certainly one Luke seemed to go for.

"NICK WHAT THE FUCK!? I TELL YOU NOT TO CAUSE TROUBLE AND YOU SMASH VITALI'S FACE IN... AFTER ONE FUCKING DAY!? ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS NICK! I'M DONE WITH YOU MAN! I AM FUCKING DONE... YOU CAN... YOU CAN...!" He paused before the grim conclusion came to his senses.

"Nick, you're spending the night in the pen, you need to calm yourself down" Luke muttered, to several gasps.

"You can't use the pen again! Luke... you can't!" Rebecca shouted.

But he did, nobody liked it. But by some means, Nick found himself in the pen that night. Mike and Kenny escorted him there with grim faces, no one liked it, but they all thought Nick was the one slowly losing it, due to his anger. and it did keep Vitali and Nick away from each other and maybe Nick would calm down?

Or maybe, this was the start of Carver 2.0.

Either way, Nick only knew one thing, he didn't care if he got angry anymore. Or if people thought he was mad, people thought Kenny's temper was too much at times. But Kenny's drive of survival had gotten him this far into the nightmare.

Nick had to be himself to survive.


	7. The Debate

**A/N: Okay thanks guys for the recs to the other fics and a big thank you to Chameishida for her amazing art on this fic. (Seeing as the title is Going To Ruin, changing the pic of this fic to that of Luke tearing out his hair seemed very fitting) so I'd like to thank her for that, and all of you for your reviews! **

**Lockdown, Maximo and Eggomypeggo- My new trio as I like to call you, glad to see you back! And I'm loving that you're supporting this fic and seeing your reactions and reviews on the things I have in store for you during this fic!**

**Chameishida- Again thanks on the fanart (and I hope you don't mind me using it as the cover photo for this story for a while) either way I like that you're liking Luke on this as well as Gill, I didn't expect him to get so popular with reviewers as I try to write him like any 12 year old. Not too childish, but not too mature either, so I'm glad I'm doing something right with his character as I thought he'd be difficult to write. (Also, I'll try to make the chapter titles, less spoiler-y) **

**ffapathy- "Growing Pains" was an incredible fic, and I can't believe I didn't find it before hand, so I'm glad you recommended that to me and as for your latest review, I like your point on Luke being disloyal to Nick. I try to make events shocking but not too out of character, so I will try to explain Luke's motives for it this chapter. and as for those shocking moments... I think I now have a few things lined up to surprise you in this story too. **

**XXXWOLFLOVERXXX- I can almost imagine you in the fic yourself, slapping some sense into everyone and as for Clem keeping her sanity. You can certainly say at this point she has handled herself much better than a lot of the adults. Also for your question I'd say my Lee was the nicey, nicey one but I would get violent on occasion. However one moment that stood out for me is when I played the meat locker scene and I was so panicked that I failed to back Lilly or Kenny up and remained silent. My Lee was a fence sitter that episode and I reckon that would reflect myself in that situation (that's what made season 1 so good, and in season 2 I remained fairly neutral as well, so I guess that's how I got the alone ending).**

**Guest- I don't like the ship, whether Clem is 18 or not. I just don't see them as a couple (and I know it's not wrong if Clem is 18, and I know you're not all Lexi Porter's) I'm just not a cluke shipper. However a brother-sister dynamic between them is something I will happily write about and read.**

**and ShadowCinder333, Transformers g1's-prime, A Writer With Mixed Interests, Rebloxic and AquaDestinysEmbrace thank you all for your reviews and continued support!**

* * *

Nick laid down in the same position in the pen for the majority of the night, slouched over the wall his back aching as it remained in contact with the hard surface for a while. Luke had told him to "calm down" like hell he was going to "calm down!" the fact that his best friend had taken the word of a Russian stranger over his own only made him more pissed off.

_"Be yourself, it will get you far" _

So far Lilly's wise words of advice had only gotten him in the pen. Yet Nick couldn't dismiss those unexpected words that came from the older woman's mouth, he knew he had every right to suspicious. If those Russians were plotting against them and plotting to kill them all and steal their supplies than Nick would pride himself on being the only one actually able to do something about it.

Nick didn't sleep much that night, yet he awoke in early morning to the sound of a timid tapping on the steel shutter of the pen.

"I'm not the mood for bullshit Luke" Nick snapped, assuming his friend has come to apologise, or simply tell him off some more.

"I'll try and keep it short then" came the broken English from the Russian woman, Natasha. Someone Nick wasn't expecting, yet he covered his surprise with the growl of a question... "What do you want?"

"I came to apologise for Vitali's behaviour..." Natasha began.

"Then why didn't he just come here himself!?" Nick snapped, as Natasha remained silent, as Nick turned around to face where the young Russian woman was crouched down, with her face pressed against the shutter. She gazed at Nick and then at the floor... before looking up at Nick once again seemingly finding her answer.

"He didn't want to come and apologise, his too stubborn and too full of pride. If he knew I was here..." she trailed off and looked around, it was early morning so not a lot of people were awake, so they were alone for now. Upon hearing Natasha's reply Nick snorted.

"He knew he lied then, you know it too! Why don't you guys just come clean and admit it?" He demanded of her, as Natasha's gaze hardened.

"We do not know you all to well, what Vitali did was stupid and cruel, but you didn't make it any better on yourself by lashing out..."

"Hey! He insulted my mother! Do you know what happened to her? Huh!? She died right in front of me and I couldn't save her! So can you fucking blame me, for punching a guy who insults her?" He spat at Natasha, letting some of the pent up fury off his chest, as Natasha gave a surprisingly quick reply, rather than stunned silence that Nick was expecting.

"Vitali lost his friend Buricko only two days ago, Buricko was shot right in front of him and he couldn't do anything to save him. So can you blame him for being a little hostile towards you? Especially since you stole from us in the past...?"

"Don't fucking bring that up!" Nick snapped, as Natasha sighed.

"Look... with Buricko gone Vitali doesn't want to lose anyone else. He provoked a reaction out of you because he dislikes you for what you did, I'm not saying it was right. But he is still grieving and people who grieve do stupid things, you probably see him as a threat to the group and want him chucked out. He probably feels the same way about you" Natasha informed him, Nick wondered why on earth (especially now as the group was cracking) that people were suddenly speaking as if they acquired a degree in human psychology and morales.

Natasha had gotten the stunned silence out of Nick that she expected, Nick was too proud to admit that she was probably right. From his silence Natasha had her answer she stood up tall once again.

"I am glad to have spoken too you. But have you ever wondered that you and Vitali maybe much more alike than you think?"

She left him then, as Nick was left thinking about her final question. Maybe him and Vitali were alike, too Nick the realisation dawned on him that Vitali was almost a mirror image to what Nick looked like to the view of an outsider. He never liked himself and had low self-esteem but maybe Vitali was doing all that he did, too protect his group. So regardless of how much Nick may have hated himself/Vitali a simple truth remained. He would continue to be himself, if it meant protecting everyone.

He had to play a role. Even if the people he loved, hated him for it.

* * *

Luke was the one who came to fetch Nick from the pen, he lifted the shutter that morning with an apologetic look on his face. Nick stood up and gazed scornfully at Luke.

"Care to tell me why you took that a stranger's word over my own?" Nick instantly asked of him.

"I... I just didn't want any trouble Nick. I was afraid of what Vitali or the other group would do if I put him in the pen, I didn't like putting you in the pen... but dammit I had to maintain some control! Things are bad enough as it is...!"

"God fucking dammit, listen to yourself Luke! Actually Listen!" Nick ranted, causing a few nearby heads to turn as Nick raged on "We don't know Vitali at all! And you put me in the pen to make yourself look good! To make the guests feel welcome!? Is that your fucking reasoning!? Everyone knows Vitali was clearly in the wrong! You too! But you fucking lock me up instead to maintain control! You actually said Maintain control! You sound so much like fucking Bill...!"

"Nick, don't say that" Luke seemingly whispered, his eyes widening.

"It's true Luke. You need Clem, or someone to help snap you back to your senses! Your fucking losing it man! I don't want to see you become like Bill! I want to help but you keep pushing me the fuck away..."

"Luke!" Vince suddenly called out from the distance, as Luke lifted his head miserably.

"Remember the meeting! Be there in 5 minutes!" Vince exclaimed to him as Luke slowly nodded, Vince proceeded towards Luke's office, as Nick looked on fairly confused. "Were having a meeting about this whole cult scenario" Luke explained as he looked up at his office "A few of us are deciding on what to do, I'm going to try and make the best choice for us all, although Vince will probably jump down my neck every time I open my mouth..." Luke gave a humourless laugh after this, as Nick gazed at his worn down friend.

"Let me help" Nick demanded instantly.

"No, people will think I'm biased if I chose you, because were friends" Luke told him, as Nick shook his head.

"Not after what happened yesterday they won't, you just don't want me involved because you still think I need protecting!" Nick snapped, his azure eyes burning in rage, after everything he had been through... Luke still treated him as if he were a delicate piece of china glass that could break at any second. When Luke seemed to be completely unaware he was the piece of china glass that needed protecting...

"You're just pushing me away again" Nick said.

Luke gulped, he had nothing to say. Nick left him in silence, making Luke feel even worse about himself, so with a heavy heart Luke departed for his office.

* * *

Since this was something of a democracy and not a Luke-tatorship, a council of nine had been pieced together to ensure this decision would reach a majority vote and not a spilt one. As Co leaders Clementine and Luke were in on the decision. Along with 7 others who seemed like they could best represent the interests of everyone in the store as a whole, they were Vince, Kelly, Lilly, Stephanie, Christa, Mike and Randy.

"Well good day folks, I think were all ready for this, are we not?" Luke asked of everyone taking his seat next to Clementine. The debate was set in stone.

To stay at Howe's or to leave?"

"Okay" Luke began, putting on his most confident voice as he looked at the 8 faces around him, "Well we all know what this is about. Due to recent concerns about this cult, along with other things, includin' the lack of supplies and concerns about inner group conflicts. Some think it would be best to leave Howe's and find pastures anew. Others think it would be best to stay and defend this store until the very end. Now the decision made here today will be made with the best intentions of the group alone. Now I've selected you guys, as you're the most likely to be unbiased during this debate" Too Clementine she could almost envision Luke in a suit, in one those board meetings, giving his impressive speech. She could indeed see him as a businessman at this point.

"So, if nobody minds. I will begin this debate..." he waited as he stood up tall, looking around the empty room as silence met his ears. This was a sign of the all clear to him, as he dived into his argument.

"Okay... as leader of this place. I think it's best for everyone if we stay. We have food, we have water. We can sustain ourselves here. Were running low on meds, but we have enough to sustain the group for a while. Add that to the facts, if this cult is approaching rather than too flee into the forest where they can hunt us down one by one. Divided we are weak, but together in this fortress we have, we can fight this cult off! We can stay here for a few years at least...!"

"WHAT!?" Vince imploded, as Luke's words died on his tongue, as Vince brought up his side of the argument.

"A few years! Even if we do vote to stay here Luke, we could only sustain this place for a month or two! What the hell are you on man!?" Vince asked rudely of his leader, as Luke felt a vein in his temple throb, as he tried to wipe away a developing sheen of sweat from his forehead.

"You don't have enough faith in this place! None of you do! Remember we took this place from Carver! We've been here much longer than we could have imagined at the start! and we can stay here! We have the basic rations to survive. Where else are you gonna find electricity, as well as endless supply of food and water! We can grow food here. We got the taps that give us water! We need to think about the basics here...!" Luke was trying to dig his point into the other's heads, as Kelly spoke up.

"I get where you're coming from Luke. But we can't let personal involvement affect what's best for the group. Not everyone here fought for this store" she stated, as Christa and Randy nodded in agreement with her. "And we may have food and drink but were lacking on other things..." Kelly began.

"Like fuel" Mike argued.

"and ammo" Vince added.

"So we'll be surviving, but we'll have nothing to defend ourselves with. Or even flee with!" Kelly argued stressing her point.

"We have melee weapons! If worst comes to worst we can fight them off with those!" Luke argued, as Christa shook her head in dismissal.

"They have guns Luke!" she exclaimed "We've been chased by them for months! It's clear they have supplies and a hell of a lot of them! They shot Buricko and if we try running up to them with axes, we'll be torn down to pieces!" She stressed, as she slammed her fists on the table to make her point very clear.

"But the point is you lost your group out there Christa! Those Russians were whittled down one by one. Now there's just you and the other three left. Whereas here we've lasted ten months! Almost a goddamn year! and we fought off Carver to gain this place! In fact if a little girl can outwit William Carver, then why can't we beat a giant ass cult!" Luke shouted across the table. With herself now referenced, Clementine found herself more intrigued with this debate.

"You've lasted because the cult haven't discovered this place! When they do, they'll tear you too pieces, just like they did with Mike and Bonnie's truck!" Christa argued back, in which Mike nodded in agreement.

"Hang on, we hardly know anything about this cult yet. All we know is that they like to shoot people who refuse to join them" Stephanie piped up, as Lilly also chipped in with a dry laugh, as she muttered "That's all we need to know" however Stephanie ploughed on.

"So they shoot anyone that refuses to join them, what if we said yes? I mean, it's clear when they come across new survivors they ask them whether or not they want to join their cult. We could say yes and they don't shoot us..." Stephanie was saying.

"Are you saying, we _join_ those freaks!" Christa shrieked. "After all they've done!? After everyone they've killed!?"

"No, I'm saying we pretend we join their cult and then we escape. They might give us a break period or something, then we can ensure we can pack everything and use one of the trucks to drive to freedom! Judging by the fact they haven't found us yet, they can't have a truck on them. So we need to ensure we stick to this store to the very end, and with a truck at the ready. We can outrun them. Besides we'll more time to prepare and too pack when we do have to leave. And whose to say the cult will find us? We might get lucky, we can't just leave this place behind because a crazy cult, _might_ find us..."

"Oh no, they will find us, trust me" Christa said sternly.

"And I'd prefer to have a head-start over those freaks really. The sooner we leave, the more fuel we have. The better chance we have of reaching our next destination which would be Wellington" Vince said agreeing with Christa. As Lilly decided it was her time to speak.

"I get your point of view, but I'm with Stephanie and Luke on this one. Look, I've seen that cult in action. and yes they are fucked up and high in numbers. But if we leave now, we'll leave this place early. We won't be able to pack everything with us, and we'll leave some stuff behind. Such as fuel and a few trucks... think about it. Those fuckers will utilize those supplies, and probably use them against us. We need to ensure we've sucked this place dry before we are ready to jump ship, trust me, in my year or so wondering around You'd be surprised what's left over in cars and buildings that's useful" Lilly stated, as Stephanie nodded her head in agreement.

Stephanie had previously wanted to jump ship alone, in fact she still did. But now with that cult out there, she knew venturing out there alone would be suicide. and it would worsen the group she wanted to protect, as stealing supplies and having them ending up in the hands of the cult after they killed her, would make it more difficult on her group to survive. So, yes she still wanted to leave, but at a time where leaving would help them rather than hinder them.

"That's a valid point, but regardless staying here is a risk and we really all willing to take it? I mean fuck, even if we do decide to stay today, it will be a month or two before we're back in here" Mike said to the group around the table.

"It would be a risk to leave. We fought so hard for this place Mike. You should know that. You stopped this place from burning down. You fought for this place. I know you're concerned about supplies here but we can hold on for a little longer, besides we have the group itself to consider. We still need to get to know the new group better. and out there... I mean what about AJ? The baby's stable here and think of Gill and Sarah, They are safer here rather than out on the road" Luke was stating.

"His right, I want to keep my boy in this safe haven for as long as possible" Randy said, speaking up in his deep voice.

"You're missing the point! This isn't a safe haven anymore and I think we've established that we need to leave!" Vince was ranting as he gave his solid conclusion "It's best if we leave! I'd rather jump ship early and ensure everyone is safe, then stay on the sinking ship just for a few small benefits!"

"Here-is-stable!" Luke argued to him, Kelly saw a jealous fury spread all over Vince's face. She looked at the table, knowing what was coming was going to be ugly indeed.

"Here is stable!? Wellington is stable Luke! Or anywhere else! It's high time to leave! Like Jane said, if not Wellington and island somewhere! We have those plans! Why on earth are you ignoring what you dead girlfriend said...!"

Luke stiffened. Clementine slowly shuffled her seat away from him and next to the powerful figure of Lilly. Everyone knew what followed was not going to be pleasant, the tension seemed to increase in the air.

"Don't bring her up" Luke growled.

"Why not Luke!? This is a democracy after all! We have freedom of speech here! I can say what I want Luke, and I'm gonna tell you something that everyone else is too scared to say to you...!"

"Vince..." Kelly muttered meekly to no avail, as Vince said the worst possible thing he could say to Luke.

"IT'S YOUR FAULT JANE'S DEAD LUKE! IN MY POINT OF VIEW IF YOU CAN'T PROTECT YOUR GIRLFRIEND HOW THE HELL CAN YOU EXPECT TOO LOOK AFTER ALL OF US! I'M SAYING THIS BECAUSE I DON'T THINK YOU'RE STABLE LEADER! AND THAT YOUR CHOICE TO STAY HERE IS FUCKING STUPID!"

Vince knew as he was shouting it, he was acting like an asshole. A massive one at that. But he knew he had to say it, if Luke snapped at him now, then he would painted in a bad light and people would vote for Vince and his plan to leave the store. Admittedly Vince wanted to be leader again and make the choice to leave the store, because he knew in his gut it was the right choice. In fact, even if it seemed Vince was hell-bent on destroying Luke that wasn't the case. In a way he was trying to save Luke from himself. He wanted the young man to step back and the pressure of leadership to leave his shoulders.

So even if Vince was antagonizing Luke to the extreme. He knew it had to be done.

Luke didn't speak, he didn't move. As Vince's words crashed over him. He finally seemed to blink and he spoke, his voice raspy and icy that chilled Clementine to the bone.

"I blame myself every day for Jane. I let Kelly on this meeting even though I knew it would bias in your favour. I try my damn hardest to lead this place, and..." Luke paused, as the aggression (and sound of his voice,) reached a peak... "AND, I FUCKING APPRECIATE IT, IF SOMEBODY WOULD THANK ME FOR FUCKING ONCE RATHER THAN JUMP DOWN MY FUCKING NECK! BECAUSE IN SHIT-HEAP OF A FUCKING WORLD, THIS STORE IS THE ONLY GOOD THING TO COME OUT OF IT! I'M DOING MY FUCKING BEST TO LEAD THIS PLACE! SO VINCE, SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

There was a ringing silence in the room after this outburst, the weight of Luke's words hitting everyone like a tsunami as they lay back in their seats. Frozen in place, as Luke seemed to stare at the table. Finally he muttered, "Those in favour of leaving, raise your hand".

Christa, Mike, Vince and Kelly raised their hands almost instantly. As Luke looked around, before he murmured "Those in favour staying, raise your hand".

Stephanie, Lilly and Luke raised their hands instantly, Randy seemed a bit uncertain but finally raised his hand into the air, as Luke counted "Four by four... Clem you haven't voted yet" Luke told her, as his brown orbs locked on her yellow one's.

"Oh" Clementine gasped, she was drawn in watching everyone else, but now suddenly... all eyes were on her. She was swing vote. Her vote would determine the future of the group. This time around she didn't have any future knowledge to help her... other than that she and everyone else had died in the wilderness. Maybe staying here was a good thing. But Vince and the others had made some valid points. She silently looked back at Luke, there was no emotion in his eyes and something about his gaze... scared her. She feared if she said "Yes, let's leave" he might have hurt her. But was she was really going to potentially jeopardise the future of the group because she was scared of Luke?

She breathed in, the logic of both arguments weighing in her mind, as she gave her answer.

"I think we should stay. It's too early to leave yet, not if the cult haven't even shown up. We can defend this place and I'd rather live here comfortably here, even if it is just for a month. Than be out there and struggling" she reasoned, as Luke gave her the tiniest ghost of a smile.

"Well than that settles it!" Luke called out to the table. Yet Vince merely grunted.

"That doesn't settle anything Luke, that just tells me you're willing to intimidate 11 year old's into making the choices you want" Vince snapped.

"I was not scaring Clem, she's tough she made her own decision! Ain't that right Clem?" Luke asked of the capped girl.

"Yeah" Clementine answered, way too quickly to come across as convincing, in fact she gasped at her own answer, when she realised that maybe she did make her decision based on how scared she was of Luke. That outburst had scared her, he had locked Nick in the pen, screamed at Vince to shut the fuck up. Where would it end? She tried to convince herself she wasn't scared of Luke. Luke would never hurt her. He wouldn't. She made her own decision. Didn't she?

"An eleven year old shouldn't have to make decisions like that! Now if something happens to the group, she's going to be carrying the burden of the guilt" Christa snapped at Luke, who merely replied "It wasn't just her, I made that decision too. If something does happen to the group. Me, Stephanie, Lilly and Randy are just as much to blame" but Christa merely scoffed.

"Yeah but you or Stephanie, Lilly or Randy weren't put on the spot. You put her on the spot Luke. You've hurting more people than you're saving and believe me. The decision made here today. Is a bad one. I don't blame you Clem honey..." Christa said suddenly kindly to Clementine, who silently stared at her, before she turned back to Luke "If something does go wrong. I blame him" and with this she dramatically got up from her chair and left the room.

"Wrong choice, wrong choice dude. You are not fit for this, I don't care what anyone says" Vince snapped at Luke who silently gazed back at him, Kelly was muttering "Vince, come on" and was finally able to drag him from the room, when the door closed behind him, Luke let out a breath of air and looked down at the table.

"Man... that was intense" Mike muttered, as he laid back and turned to Luke "Don't worry, I ain't gonna give you shit. What's done is done. Maybe staying here is the right..." he paused there, because Luke's shoulders were shaking uncontrollably.

"Hey, you alright?" Stephanie asked, as Luke's first sob escaped from his sound system. Mike stared awkwardly at Randy, Lilly and Stephanie shared a concerned glance, as Clementine slowly edged towards Luke. Feeling very uncomfortable indeed, as Luke was weeping very openly now, burying his face in the table and using his arms to cover his face.

"It's alright, it's alright, we made the right choice Luke" Clementine encouraged him, nervously patting him on the back, Lilly looked on sadly. Clementine could try all she wanted, Lilly had tried, but now she was giving up hope in Luke. Like she told Nick, she had tried to get through to him in the belief he could be saved. But now... after seeing all the stress on his shoulders and seeing him break down here was a bad sign. He was snapping like she was, and nothing in her power or anyone's could stop him.

Luke wept loudly, in front of all these people. In front of Randy, Mike, Lilly and Stephanie. Who could only watch him in concern, feeling very uncomfortable, they had never seen Luke cry openly before. And now here he was... tethering on the edge of his sanity and self control.

Clementine continued to try and encourage him, that the choice they made was the right one. Yet in all honesty, she was trying to convince herself more than she was trying to convince him.

_Had she made the right choice? _


	8. You're Kidding, right?

**A/N: Okay, I'm really loving your responses to the story so far! The debate in the last chapter seemed to get a lot of you thinking, and caused a spilt opinion. Some think staying was the best bet (mainly due to Lilly's argument) others think leaving was the right choice (despite Vince being an A-hole, he did have his reasons and made some very valid points...) so keep the reviews coming! I'll try to keep things rounded and interesting!**

**AquaDestinysEmbrace- Thanks for your review and as for the thing you sent me in the PM... I'll think about it. It will certainly be an interesting addition to the character roster...**

**Rebloxic- (Takes a bow) thanks for your applause. This chapter will focus a little more on the mindsets of characters still not explored too much in this story (Rebecca, Eddie, Wyatt, Sarita, etc...) I hope to make them all flawed in their own little ways!**

**FunFX2012- I'm glad you're confused (not in that sense!) just in the fact the group are facing such a tough choice that it even leaves the reader baffled on what the hell to do. Or who is fit to lead. **

**A Writer With Mixed Interests- Glad I got you wondering, and I'll try and make each chapter more thought provoking with tougher decisions.**

**Chameishida- No problem about the picture, hell I'd love it if you did more, as gaining fanart on my work inspires me to write even more... so yeah if you ever feel inspired or anything feel free to doodle away... and as for your review I'm glad you brought up Lilly possibly being the new leader and that despite her reputation she was the calmest and cleverest in the room. Or is she? Only time will tell if Clem's decision was the right one...**

**ffapathy- Loving your reviews and observations as always, and the scenario you pointed out at the end of the review was realistic, as walkers turned up the last time there was a gunfight (the rebellion) and with the cult already in walker skins... they wouldn't have to worry about them. But the store survivors on the other hand... a lot could go down. **

**Guest and Transformers g1's-prime- To answer both your questions, I loved episode 2, in fact on my grand scale of all ten walking dead Episodes (not counting 400 days), it ranks pretty high. As my order for episodes would be... 1st No Time Left (Just... everything) 2nd Long Road Ahead (an emotional rollercoaster, I physically felt drained after playing it) 3rd Starved for Help (I'll come to my reasoning shortly) 4th A House Divided (Best of season 2) 5th Around Every Corner, 6th All That Remains, 7th A New Day, 8th No Going Back, 9th In Harm's Way, 10th Amid The Ruins. **

**Now Starved for Help was a brilliant episode because the decisions in it, were so damn difficult. (Whether or not to Kill Larry, who too feed. To steal or not to steal) the episode made me think about who the hell I would be in an apocalypse and helped shaped Lee's character. The St. John's were believable villains. Your confrontation with them was brilliantly done. So overall I loved Starved for Help. **

**Anyway, (I've gone on a bit) thanks to the rest you guys! You know who you are, (Maximo, Lockdown, Eggomypeggo, leafs nation, XXXWOLFLOVERXXX and Bubbles2k100)**

* * *

"Target sighted. Prepare to fire?"

It was intense, the young man leaned in through the scope of his rifle, training one wide caramel coloured iris' on his target, beads of sweat rolled down his forehead as his body tensed, preparing himself as... as...

His target stood up. He saw it all.

"Goddamn it, Stef has one fine booty..."

"Yeah, damn it even shakes when she moves..."

"Are you two finished creating the new Niagara falls?" Nick snapped at them, as Wyatt and Eddie's eyes remained locked on their target. Wyatt gave Nick was one blank shrug, as Eddie simply muttered, "Dude, were on asswatch, and I don't get what you're saying... Niagara falls? Where the fuck did that come from?"

"Well you're drooling so much you might as well... oh you know what forget it! You clearly aren't listening are you!?" Nick ranted to them, as Wyatt readjusted his glasses and muttered to Eddie "Strong breeze today, huh Eddie?"

"Yeah" his best friend replied, his eyes still locked onto his target.

"You know. We are supposed to be guard rather than fooling around, especially with that cult out there..." Nick was warning them, yet Eddie and Wyatt did not seem to be taking it seriously at all, Wyatt yawned, as Eddie told Nick causally "It's been a freaking week dude! If those cultists were gonna show up, they would have done so by now. Besides, we are on guard. Were guarding Stef..."

Nick simply let out a moody grunt and lay back on the roof. It had been a full week since the group had voted to stay at Howe's, the decision didn't seem an all too popular one with everybody. Vince complained whenever he could, Kelly usually found in his shadow trying to calm him down somewhat. Kenny naturally thought that leaving was a good idea, and that Luke was stupid. However as Clementine had known Kenny the longest, she knew his logic behind his decision.

It was the Motor Inn all over again. Kenny wanted to leave. Lilly wanted to stay, they had an argument the night after the decision. The motor inn was brought up once again...

"AND IT ALL WENT TO SHIT WHEN WE LEFT...!" Lilly was screaming.

"IT WAS FINISHED ANYWAY! MAYBE IF WE LEFT EARLIER...!" Kenny was bellowing back.

Luke was the main problem however. Crying openly in front of all of those people... well Randy told Patricia. Who told Gill. Who Gill told too loudly to Sarah, in which Vitali overheard and told Christa. In which Christa told Bonnie, in which Bonnie tried to tell Mike but he already knew. However in the process of telling him Eddie overheard, he told Wyatt, who told Nick. Nick went to Stephanie to validate the evidence.

"He cried?" he asked of her, as she leant back on her wooden chair.

"Yeah, just started weeping like a kid. I felt so sorry for the guy..."

A guilt ridden Nick instantly rushed to Luke's office to see what the hell was going on. He found a dry eyed Luke staring blankly at the desk in front of him.

"Luke..." he began, his tone reeking of apology. He'd be dammed if he'd let his friend suffer in silence, he had cried. Everyone in the Hardware store had known it, he knew it, Luke knew it. Everyone knew it. It was common knowledge now that he had broken down, that the amount of stress he was under was something that he couldn't handle alone.

"Luke... man you have got to let me help you!" Nick begged. Luke looked up at him. He wanted Luke to deny it. He wanted Luke to snap at him. He wanted Luke to cry again. He wanted Luke to react! To do something! To show any sort of emotion! But Luke reacted in the worst way possible.

"Yeah, I know I cried, being a leader is hard" Luke said, his voice surprisingly flat, his eyes devoid of any kind of emotion. His words puffed out of his mouth in a simplistic manner, with no force behind them, the southern twang to his accent almost seemed oddly subdued. His response was something that Nick wasn't expecting, and something Nick didn't know how to react too. If he said those words while crying, Nick would understand, he would comfort his friend.

But Luke was devoid. Emotionless. Nick went up to his friend and shook his broad shoulders, yet Luke's head seemed to shake like a bobble-head. As if there was nothing inside his head any more.

Luke was gone, he had pretended he was fine, now that cover was blown, what could Luke do? Become a grovelling mess? No. He still had a group to lead, he simply had too not cry again. He had to be tough, but the only way he knew how was trying to stay optimistic and hide his inner troubles.

What if he could hide not just his inner troubles, but everything else?

Nick tried, Lilly tried, Rebecca tried. But no one could get through to Luke anymore. Not even Clementine. She sat with him through days of work and yet Luke didn't joke with her anymore. He didn't cry. There were no more "toilet breaks", there was nothing. Clementine was working with an automated machine, one that simply processed the orders of the others without any protest. If Vince needed ammo, then Luke would give it too him. "Here you go" Luke would say handing Vince a few spare rounds, as Vince looked over at him, bewildered.

Vince had even tried to antagonize Luke once again "Luke! Listen to me man! We are running low on ammo and we have got to leave! What the hell is wrong with you!? You're acting like everything's fine...!" Luke simply sat through Vince's tirade without batting an eyelid. Before passing him the bullets he had originally asked for. Clementine gently escorted Vince from the office.

"Why do you have to be so mean to him!?" Clementine snapped the minute they were out of Luke's earshot.

"Look Clem, I know I might be coming off as a bit of a douche, but I..." he never finished his sentence, as a crashing behind him made his words die in his throat. He looked back to the office and muttered a "good luck" to Clementine before hurriedly descending the stairs. Clementine nervously made her way back into the office, calling out Luke's name nervously before she entered the room.

He was stood up by the wall. One of his hands lying limply by his side was curled into a fist. As a torrent of blood rained down that hand.

Clementine had no idea how hard he had punched the wall. All she knew is that the human under the robot was still there. Lying underneath the very thin skin, was a very mentally unstable man who was very close to truly snapping. When that human came to surface, there would be trouble indeed. In fact this new Luke scared Clementine even more.

Sarah was brought up to bandage Luke's hand. Her bright brown eyes kept flickering up at Luke nervously as she applied the bandages over where he had torn the skin from his knuckles. When she finished she left the room, it had been a silent process, yet Clementine could tell that even a somewhat clueless Sarah, was scared of Luke. Clementine departed the office with her, free from her duties for the day. As soon as they descended the stairs Sarah turned to Clementine.

"Hey Clem" she piped up.

"Yeah" Clementine replied.

"Well... back there... I was..."

"Scared of Luke?" Clementine answered. As Sarah nodded in awe, as Clementine sighed and ran readjusted her father's cap on her head, before she ploughed on "His changed Sarah, I'm worried about him"

_"But... his still our friend... right?" _

Clementine found this question increasingly hard to answer and for some reason, this question alone (that Sarah liked to repeat) seemed to make her stomach swirl in dread for reasons she couldn't explain. She finally inhaled and gave a very shaky "Yes". Luke was still her friend.

Wasn't he?

* * *

"Say Mama!"

"Ga... ga..." AJ replied, sticking a chunky finger into his mouth and chewing on it with his developing teeth. Christa smiled down at the baby as she sat cross legged next to him, trying to make him say his first word. She had already spent an hour or two trying to teach him how to walk, while she supported him. Yet Alvin wasn't a walker yet.

"Come on Omid! Come on!" Christa encouraged him, not flinching at the obvious mistake in name.

AJ looked up at her blankly, his bright green eyes blankly gazing at the celling, before he looked back down once again and started to dribble from his mouth. He laughed as his clear saliva hit the floor, his laughter causing Christa to smile and feel all warm and fuzzy inside. She watched as Alvin reached one of his tiny hands into his own pool of saliva as he wiped it into the tiled floor, before he reached his hand towards his mouth...

"No... no! Dirty!" Christa scalded him, moving his hand away from his mouth, as Alvin's face scrunched up and he began to wail, a few fat tears squeezing themselves from his eyes.

"Sssh, sssh, don't cry. Mommy's here" Christa said, as she scooped AJ up in her bony arms and rocked the child gently, he seemed to calm down, as Christa smiled down at him "That's it. That's it" Christa cooed, as AJ began to relax, his eyes getting droopy as...

The door creaked open. Christa whipped around to find Rebecca entering the room.

"Oh, here you are" Rebecca began in a hostile tone towards Christa. Who simply held a silent AJ closer to her chest and cleared her throat before explaining "He wondered in here... I thought I'd look play with him for a little while" Christa mused, as Rebecca narrowed her eyes. Not liking the thought of this woman growing too overly attached to her child. Yes Clementine had known her previously, but Rebecca had only known her for little more than a week. She wasn't comfortable with finding Christa with her child so often.

Clementine said Christa was nice, but people could have changed. Luke had changed. Christa could have too.

"You know this was the room Stef lost her child in" Rebecca told Christa bluntly.

"Oh... that's awful" Christa sympathised, the only reply that came from the top of her head, as she and Rebecca continued to stare each other down. Finally Rebecca spoke.

"I want Alvin back now Christa"

"Sure..." Christa replied, handing Alvin back to Rebecca who gripped her son like a security blanket. She turned to leave the dark room, but looked back to see Christa gazing at Alvin in longing... Rebecca knew what she had been through and regretted what she was about to say to Christa, but it needed to be said.

"Look, I know you lost your child Christa. But Alvin is not Omid"

And with that Rebecca left the room with Alvin in tow, Christa gazing after her in shock, it was then she realised that Rebecca was watching her the whole time. Yet she couldn't help playing with AJ. AJ reminded her too much of the son she had lost, playing with AJ... it made her forget everything. The cult... the risk of Vitali being caught stealing meds, just everything. Everything was so much simpler and happier when she was with AJ.

She liked being a mother.

* * *

"... well that sounds creepy..." Patricia summarised, as she Sarita and Rebecca were sat huddled together in the sickbay. Rebecca was gossiping away to them over what had just happened, with Alvin on her knee as the child looked up at the three woman blankly.

"But she did lose her child. Maybe we should go easier on her" Sarita suggested as Patricia shook her head.

"I don't want to sound harsh, but I think Rebecca's right here Sarita. Christa may have been through something traumatic, but that doesn't give her a right to steal someone else's baby..."

"... and we've only known her a week. She seems nice from what I can gather so far. But you can never be too trusting" Rebecca added. As Patricia led the next point of gossip.

"Yeah, anyway Randy was going on again last night. About why staying was still best for us. I've said it once and I'll say it again me, Gill and Randy didn't trek halfway across the country just to move once again. Hell, out there it's tough, trust me" Patricia said as Sarita and Rebecca nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it's better for AJ if we stay put here. Look I'm worried about Luke, but I do think he has a point" Rebecca told the other two woman, they nodded in agreement. As Sarita chipped in "Kenny still thinks it best to leave, he thinks it's best for me, him and... well... I disagree I think it's better to stay. It would be better" Sarita summarised. Rebecca taking note of how she fumbled her words somewhat.

"Men, there a completely different species to us. I don't think we'll ever understand them" Patricia told the other woman.

"I don't think they'll ever understand us to be honest" Rebecca muttered, gazing down at little Alvin once again.

"Speaking of them, it's without a shadow of a doubt that the three young one's are after Stef" Patricia was saying, as Rebecca asked "Eddie, Wyatt and Nick? Yeah I can hardly blame them really. She is a pretty girl after all" Rebecca was stating this as she examined her own appearance, her dull curly hair and tired eyes. In her late thirties she knew she was losing whatever looks she had... not that it mattered anymore, in this world she didn't really care.

"I know Stef is probably still put off by men after what happened with Stan... but if I was her. I would have jumped Eddie by now..." Patricia admitted giddily, as the two other woman laughed away at her comment. "Why? His an idiot" Rebecca mused.

"But you can't deny his likeable and the guy makes me laugh. Not to mention I have a thing for beards" Patricia said as she continued "Randy used to have a long one too, and he is a funny guy. You girls just never see that side to him" she told them, as Rebecca mused back "That's odd, since you're with Randy. I thought you'd go with Wyatt with the whole glasses thing and all..."

"No. Eddie and Stef would be a great couple. Hell, she'd need cheering up after all she's been through" Patricia said, as Rebecca shook her head, "No, I think Eddie can take care of himself. I think Nick needs somebody, poor boy has been through too much in the past and now lately... the two look alike. Hell I could see them together, It would be good for them both..." Rebecca spoke on giving her opinion, as did Patricia. Yet Rebecca noticed that Sarita remained very quiet throughout the conversation. Even more so when Patricia went on about children.

"I can't have biological children of my own. But when we found Gill... I realised one child was enough" (Rebecca laughed at this) "But I love him all the same, and I'd do anything to protect him" Patricia told Rebecca who understood her situation completely as she held a now sleeping AJ close to her chest.

"You okay Sarita? You haven't spoken in a while?" Rebecca turned to the Indian woman. Who simply stared back at her friend. Her hands were on her forehead and she looked troubled.

"All this talk of children. Gill and AJ, they can survive in this world, can't they? Maybe any child can" Sarita seemed to ask this in desperation as Patricia nodded her head as Rebecca asked "Where's all this coming from?"

Sarita gave Rebecca a sad look. Suddenly it seemed to hit Rebecca as a thousand different emotions flooded through the curly haired woman's head as she learnt this news.

"You're not...?" she began, a smile creeping it's way onto her face.

"I am" Sarita responded, her tone certain.

"When did you... who knows!?" Rebecca asked rapidly of Sarita as she answered "Kenny and me, that is all. That's why he thinks leaving is the best option, as there is now more than just me to protect" Sarita told her, as Patricia asked "Sarita are you saying, what I think you're saying?"

"That's right. I am expecting"

The three woman squealed as Rebecca and Patrica hugged their friend. Many "Congratulations!" were shared between them. as a reddened Sarita sat staring at her hands as she muttered "I know this baby will cause problems. So please keep this between you" she begged of the other two woman.

"Of course, our lips are sealed" Rebecca promised her friend, as she hugged Sarita again "Oh... this is just brilliant! Alvin will a friend to play with..."

"But there are issues remember? What if that cult shows up? I can't give birth out there, that's why I want to stay here. Whereas Kenny thinks it's best to try and get to Wellington while I'm still in my early stages of pregnancy..."

Rebecca was happy on the surface, but inside she worried about her friend. Even with a lot of medical supplies Rebecca needed a few weeks to recover from Alvin's birth. Sarita could have been out there... in the cold with no supplies... the thought chilled her and made the decision to stay even more difficult. Because what if they were wrong? What if they left too late? What if they didn't reach Wellington in time before Sarita gave birth?

Rebecca kept Alvin close to her chest. They were in the eye or the hurricane. Everything seemed peaceful at the moment, but soon the eye would pass over them and the surrounding storm would hit them at full force.

* * *

Eddie wondered how long it had been since he last got lucky with a woman.

2 years maybe? He didn't know, behind his light façade, Eddie wasn't as stupid as he made himself out to be. (Okay maybe he was slightly thick, but still) he knew the store was falling. His endless jokes to lighten the mood made people laugh still, but also emotionally exhausted him. How much longer could he continue to joke for until there was nothing to joke about? Until the situation got too bleak. Then what did he do?

"Just don't fuck up like you did last time" Wyatt told him, after Eddie went to him, confessing this fear. It was a shared secret between him and Wyatt that Eddie had accidentally shot someone in the past. He didn't tell anyone else this and neither did Wyatt, in many ways that's why Eddie got on with Nick so well. Because he knew how the dude felt after shooting that dude on the bridge.

Eddie could relate. Even if Nick didn't know it.

Right now, the three of them were approaching Stephanie from where she sat on her garden chair. Eddie would have to make more jokes... keep Wyatt, Nick and Stephanie's moods light. Yet no one ever seemed to think he got in a bad mood sometimes, that he could also kill somebody. He was passed out during the whole rebellion. He didn't fight, he was just that loveable goofball Eddie. Nobody knew what to expect of him when shit got serious.

And neither did Eddie himself. That's what scared him. The last time it had happened he had shot someone by accident. Been chased down by a psychopath and got separated from his best friend for a very long time...

He wanted to stay here at Howe's and deny what was coming. He knew outright denial was never a good thing. But Eddie couldn't handle intense situations. He just couldn't... his pulse raced... his vision would go dizzy and he'd panic. He'd panic very easily.

So, rather live and enjoy the moment than think endlessly of what was to come.

Or how badly he'd fuck up during it.

"HEY STEPH! I'D LIKE TO FUCK YOU SILLY!" Eddie yelled in a perfect intimation of Nick's voice, he and Wyatt were already sprinting back into Hardware Store, as Nick paled. Wyatt and Eddie dived back into the shelter of the hardware store, just as Stephanie turned around, to find an awkward looking Nick gazing back at her. The dude was frozen in place, cursing Wyatt and Eddie under his breath as the pair of them laughed themselves silly at their planned prank.

"Now let's see if she either slaps him. Or see if were cupids" Wyatt said, as the red faced pair peered from the shutter.

"So... you'd like to fuck me silly, huh?" Stephanie causally told Nick, approaching him, as Nick went red in embarrassment.

"That... was Eddie and Wyatt! I swear to God they played a prank that they thought would be funny! It wasn't me, why would I say something like that..." Nick was speaking too fast for Stephanie to register his voice. As she simply rolled her eyes...

"I don't see Eddie or Wyatt around" she observed.

"They ran back inside. Fucking idiots..." Nick muttered, as Stephanie laughed. These three dorky guys were weird, but then again so was she. and they reminded her so much of what of her old band and the guys in it who would prank each other like this... it was almost like the old days...

No. It wasn't the old days. She couldn't grow attached to them. They would end up dead sooner rather than later. She gazed at her empty garden chair, ready to drop the whole situation and just be alone once again. But for some odd reason she found herself teasing Nick.

"Hmm... I don't believe you Nick. You're developing a bad boy reputation around here. All those fights and being locked in the pen... now you're going to rape me? What's next?" she asked him with a raised eyebrow as Nick caught on with the joke.

"I dunno. Arson attacks might be a good start. Maybe first degree murder of anyone who pisses me off, and general grand theft auto with those trucks we have..."

Stephanie whistled in an impressed manner "Wow, you got skills then Nick. Maybe you could take me for a drive before you get onto raping me. All girls love a good car. Or in this case a truck..."

"I dunno, the truck's kinda old. Maybe we should go for a relaxing swim first? You know before the whole rape occurs?" Nick suggested as Stephanie looked at the filthy moat.

"Okay Mr. Greenhouse man, you want to get the clothes off quick I see? but yeah... I could use a relaxing swim, I really need to clean myself up in that crystal blue water..." Stephanie said, gazing at the almost black sludge of a moat, with the corpses floating inside of it.

"Crystal blue, like the colour of your beautiful eyes..." Nick said in a mock romantic tone, as Stephanie snorted.

"That's your best pick up line? Well you're eyes are beautiful too Nick...!" Stephanie began in her most damsel in distress, high pitched romantic tone. Yet the pair of them were simply joking with each other, however this didn't stop Wyatt from punching the air in front of him.

"His in there. Nick will praise us for this later" Wyatt commented as he watched the pair.

"Yeah, a good prank can do a world of good sometimes" Eddie said. Which he found not to be so silly of a quote. What was the point of surviving if all anyone did was mope around all day? Eddie knew he probably wouldn't survive for long out there in the viscous dark world beyond this store.

So, he was making the best of his time here.


	9. A Hidden Agenda

**A/N: Thanks you guys for the continued support and so I'll get on with the answering your reviews! **

**Guest- Sorry I couldn't get round to you during the last note, I agree with you that the hate has to stop and a few vocal Cluke shippers were the reason Luke was killed off. I may not like them as a couple but if Clem is 18 or older than I have no problem with the shipping itself. It's just the minority who think 11 year old Clem and 27 year old Luke would be a good ship, seem to speak on behalf of the "Cluke" shipping, hence giving it a bad reputation. **

**FunFX2012- Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the chapter.**

**Transformers g1's-prime- I'm always happy to answer questions and as for "No Time Left?" It was my all time favourite episode that Telltale have done. It felt like a finale, I also loved Kenny's death (if you saved Ben) because it was a perfect way to end his arc and make even those that hated him admire him. (Which is why I was kind of disappointed when they brought him back, because his season 1 death was perfect). Lee's death was perfectly done... finding Clem's parents... just everything! But most of all the final confrontation with the stranger. There's no epic music playing in the background... no epic setup... just silence, and you sitting in front of a guy whose life you destroyed. It had me on the edge of my seat and made me question every decision I made.**

**The saddest deaths? Lee (got me crying slightly) Carley (not instantly, but afterwards I felt so depressed) Duck and Kajtaa (poor Kenny) and Ben (Made me feel bad for him, even if he did screw up so many times).**

**Disappointing thing? The lack of importance of original season 2 characters. The characters of Season 1 are mentioned frequently throughout season 2. (Lee, Lilly, Carley/Doug, Duck, Kajtaa, Molly etc...) whereas people that die in season 2 are forgotten instantly. (Luke, Nick, Sarah etc...) They are killed off pointlessly just to make it realistic but then again, they survived 2 years into the apocalypse and the second they met Clementine they all start dying? I just wish the season 2 characters got more depth/development, (I also think the episodes should have been longer) I'll also check those fics when I get the time. **

**XXXWOLFLOVERXXX- That line "Lilly/Kenny can't get the stick called the motor inn out of their ass" has to be one of my favourite lines from you, I tempted to use it in later chapters.**

**Chameishida- Glad you're liking it, and I enjoyed your views on the characters, especially Eddie. I lot of people seem to like the fact I've given him a bit more depth. and as for your doodle's I'd love to see a shorter haired Nick and Sarah! It would make my day! It's a shame about the spoils of war pic because I'd have loved to have seen that. But I understand that characters are hard to draw, anyway thanks for your continued support!**

**ffapathy- Loving your observations and theories on characters, I'm glad you pointed out the Stephanie joking about rape thing, because it does seem a little odd of her considering what's she been through and I'll try to mend it this chapter.**

**Bubbles2k100- Glad you're liking all of the characters and bad things are incoming...**

**and thank you to the rest of you guys (sorry I can't get round to you all) but I appericate your support!**

* * *

"So when's your birthday?"

"January"

"Hmm..." Sarah hummed in response to Arvo's comment, as she flicked through the flaky pages of her star signs book, she probed Arvo for further information.

"What day?

"The 9th..." Arvo responded, not really sure where this was going.

"HA!" Sarah yelled, causing a twitchy Arvo to jump as she planted her finger dramatically on the page of Arvo's birthday, "You're a Capricorn!" she announced to a blank looking Arvo.

"I am, pretty sure I am a human Sarah" Arvo muttered uncertainly.

Sarah giggled at this and couldn't stop as Arvo grew more redder by the second, his greyish eyes seemingly growing larger behind his large glasses as he peered nervously back at a giddy Sarah. When she finally stopped, she managed to gasp "You're funny Arvo. But it's a star sign, haven't you heard of star signs before?" Sarah inquired as Arvo faintly nodded his head.

"I have, but they are a bit vague to me, I did not know much English. So I simply focused on my studies" Arvo told her, as Sarah decided to learn more about this boy she had grown close too. "So... you went to school here?" she asked, as Arvo nodded.

"Me and my family moved here from Russia when I was a little boy" he began, as Sarah's interest was fixated on him as he told his tale. So much so, that she stated "I bet Russia was a cool place".

Arvo looked up at her with sad eyes "It wasn't" he replied in a deadpan tone. As Sarah's words died on her tongue before he continued.

"I focus on my studies here. But the other boys never liked me. I did not like school all that much, but I was glad we were in this country. More money you know? Better lifestyle... better healthcare for..." he paused there, not letting that information slip. Thankfully Sarah didn't seem to pick up on things that easily, as she remained blissfully unaware of Arvo's stumbling of words. Mentally cursing himself he continued before even Sarah grew suspicious of the silence.

"Then the dead start rising. It was only me and Natasha, our parents died"

"Mine too" Sarah echoed, a faraway look on her face as she remembered her father and his gory demise and her mother's disappearance from her life, Arvo seemed to finish his tale there, but Sarah was keen to know more.

"So... what about your leg? I see you limping on it sometimes... did that...?" Sarah began to ask, as Arvo readjusted his large glasses and smiled at her.

"I was with Natasha and the rest of our group, when we came across a deep slope. There were walkers behind us... we all tried to run but I slipped and... Buricko had to carry me to safety. It was bad, my bone was sticking out of my leg and I don't think it's properly healed" Arvo recounted as he gazed at his leg. Sarah offered him a look of sympathy. The worst she had been was shot... she wasn't limping. She hadn't lost a limb. In fact, in comparison to many, she had gotten off quite light.

"That, must suck. I wish there were hospitals around" Sarah said dreamily, gazing at the celling of the sickbay.

"So do I. I wish everything could go back to normal. I'm tired of all these monsters and these cults..." Arvo's voice was weary as he said it, he looked like a boy was too stretched out by the world, as he ran a hand through his flat hair. He turned to find Sarah still gazing at him, he wasn't the best looking guy in the world and she wasn't the best looking girl either... yet here they were. Two teenagers in this hell-hole of a world, enjoying each other's company.

"I like talking with you Sarah. You make me forget about how bad the world is sometimes" Arvo admitted, as Sarah's cheeks were splashed a bright red crimson.

"I... well... thanks." she stuttered, no idea why she was getting nervous, but being around Arvo gave her butterflies in her stomach. Sometimes she wondered what it would be like too... kiss a boy. Her father would condemn such a thought, but as Sarah grew older (even in the apocalypse) the thought would circulate in her mind. She had read so many Disney stories in which the princess always got her happily ever after with a handsome prince. She knew now the world didn't work like that... but sometimes... sometimes... wishes came in the oddest shapes and people.

As if reading her thoughts, Arvo leaned in closer to her, he gulped, unsure of what to say or do. The language barrier and his general social awkwardness had generally given him no experience in girls, but like Sarah he always dreamed. He knew just by looking at her that Sarah that they were the same... why was he waiting? Buricko or Vitali would give him some crude advice, Natasha would be more gentle, but in general he knew that their time in this stable shelter of a hardware store was limited. So why was he wasting it?

"Sarah have you...?" Arvo began to ask before the door behind them opened. Arvo and Sarah jumped apart, both of them not realising how close they were too each other's faces. (Literally inches, as if some magnetic force was pulling them together, without any words needed to propel this force) but now they had company they broke apart. Both pink faced as Natasha and Christa entered the room.

"What are you two doing?" Christa asked, catching them red handed (literally, it was only then Arvo realised that Sarah's smaller hand had somehow rested on top of his own) pulling their hands apart. Sarah gave an answer sort of answer.

"Were just talking" She replied.

"Of course you are" Christa responded teasingly. Sarah still looked blank on the topic, Arvo had to curse his damn luck.

All he wanted was a bit of happiness for once!

* * *

Lilly gazed out at the empty pine forest from the barricades of Howe's Hardware, it was too quiet. Too damn quiet. If there was a cult of about thousand people descending upon them, they should have been here by now. They can't have missed this store, it was too big. Something wasn't right.

It was nearly October now. Weeks had passed since the Russians and Christa had joined their ranks and yet still nothing seemed to happen. Luke remained in his office giving out robotic orders. Nick managed to avoid Vitali so nothing occurred there. Vince still complained but that was normal. In fact his speeches to the group, which roused many people to leave were growing thin. Since the cult weren't coming (or so it seemed) people began to see no reason to leave. In fact Lilly could see it on the faces of many...

They didn't want to believe the cult was coming.

But it was, they could deny it all they wanted. They could carry on their duties. Bonnie could merrily muse to Mike "Well, it's been weeks. They might of followed the wrong truck..." but the fact remained, neither she or Mike would clear out the moat and burn the bodies in fear of the cult in the trees. Stephanie planted her chair next to the store and not by the moat... Vince's eyes would flicker back to the waiting trucks more than was natural. Everyone could feel the growing tension, the oncoming storm.

Yet, no one wanted to say anything.

Lilly tried to rack her brains and she came up with the answer. She had been a bandit once, she had hunted down the groups of survivors. She had to think like a bandit now. If she was trying to take over Howe's Hardware and kill everyone inside, what would she do? If she had a thousand people and guns to overwhelm the group, she would charge right in there. So why were the cult waiting? These were the fanatics who shot anyone who didn't join them. They had killed off a large portion of the Russian group with no mercy.

It didn't make any sense. But Lilly knew there was an answer and a chilling one at that.

She had to test her theory. She inhaled and looked at the awaiting trucks, she had voted to stay to give the group more time to prepare and to destroy supplies the cult could have used against them. But the conclusion she was drawing up wasn't a good one.

Maybe, staying or leaving wouldn't have made any difference. Whenever they left the store, the result would be same...

* * *

"... Bonnie and Mike have let me go for a short while, so I'm relaxing with you two" Vitali told Natasha and Arvo as the three of them sat in the sickbay, conversing in their native Russian language. As everyone else was off working somewhere, other than Patricia who was having a nap in one of the beds at the other end of the room.

"By the way Natasha, I've got a present for you" Vitali piped up quickly handing her a bottle of painkillers, as she pocketed them quickly. Arvo watched the transaction with a look of disdain of his face.

"A whole bottle Vitali!? Are you fucking crazy!?" He spat at the older man, as Vitali simply shrugged. "Their nearly out of meds anyway, it could be anyone trying to store meds for all they know" he said causally, as Arvo tried to slap some common sense into him.

"Yes, but their bound to grow more suspicious of the shady looking Russians who have only recently joined the group! and then next thing you know meds go missing! It won't take a genius to figure it out!" Arvo ranted, as Patricia rolled over in her sleep, before settling down again, making sure they were alone (even though they were speaking in Russian) Natasha finally spoke up.

"You could at least apologize to Nick for your earlier fights. It would make us look more friendly" Natasha told an angry faced Vitali.

"No fucking way" was Vitali's expected answer, as Natasha rolled her eyes and uttered "I've said this once, I'll say it again. You and him are the same, you're both trying to protect the people you care about with violence. Try to see things from his perspective and you might understand each other a little better..." yet Natasha's words of common sense seemed to fall on deaf ears as Vitali yawned in a mocking manner.

"Fine, be stubborn" She told Vitali in a harsh tone as she turned to Arvo "So, come on brother. You and Sarah... what was all that about?"

Vitali's yawning seemed to subside as his interest peaked, as he sprang up and boomed "That girl? Sarah! Arvo, finally being a man I see... how long did you hold out?"

"Vitali!" Natasha yelled, appalled at the statement.

"Nothing happened, but I like her and I don't want to be thrown out of this group, because somebody is stealing too much meds!" he spat at Vitali, who tutted and muttered "I'm only doing this too protect _your_ sister. You're refusing to do it to get your little dick wet...!" his temper was starting to flare again. Vitali was very passionate about protecting his group and sometimes Arvo's lacklustre attitude towards what needed to be done for the group annoyed him. Added to the fact he seemed to care more about Sarah, then getting his own sister, the painkillers she needed for her sickle cell anemia. Then you could see how Vitali could be annoyed.

Arvo's face shone with anger, as he spat back at Vitali "You think I'm refusing to do it to get my dick wet!? That's rich coming from you...!"

Vitali towered over Arvo now as he stood up, "FINE!" He roared in Russian "LET YOUR SISTER SCREAM IN PAIN FOR NIGHTS ON END WHILE YOU GET BUSY WITH SARAH! GO ON! GO FUCK HER NOW THEN! DO IT! AND I'LL KEEP THE GROUP TOGETHER...!"

Arvo was screaming back "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND VITALI! YOU NEVER HAVE! IT'S EITHER YOUR WAY OR NO WAY! YOU'RE ONLY GETTING THE MEDS FOR MY SISTER TO GET YOUR OWN DICK WET... SO DON'T YOU DARE ACCUSE ME OF YOUR PROBLEM!" Arvo and Vitali glared openly at each other, panting heavily before Vitali finally spoke.

"I don't know what you're talking about" Vitali muttered, sitting back down.

"Don't think I don't know and don't treat me like an idiot!" Arvo spat, before he stood up from the bed and stormed off, Natasha tried yelling after him, but it was too no avail as Arvo was already gone.

"Man, your brother annoys the hell out of me sometimes" Vitali muttered to Natasha as she sighed and ran a hand through her straw like blonde hair.

"I'm worried about him and about Christa too. I overheard Rebecca telling Sarita something about Christa getting too attached to her baby, seeing as Christa lost her own... I don't know. I feel like were losing Christa and Arvo to this new group" Natasha told the man beside her as he agreed with her "Yes, but I plan to stay loyal to this group until the very end"

"You mean stay loyal to me? seeing as the other two are distancing themselves from us?" Natasha muttered, Vitali couldn't answer as he found himself suddenly embarrassed as Natasha buried her head in her hands "I'm such a liability with my damn disease, Sickle Cell anemia, no cure. I feel like I'm dragging everyone down..." she began to sob as Vitali pulled her closer to him.

"You're not... you're not..." he encouraged her softly. It seemed like everything was fine, but from the other side of the room, Patricia feigned sleep. The argument had woken her up, certain phrases such as "MEDS! and "Sickle Cell Anemia" said in English had stood out to her. She knew what she had to do, tell Randy and Gill. She remembered Wyatt saying something the other day about meds getting lower "We must be using more than we thought" he joked. But now all the dots connected. The russian group were stealing meds.

The group had to know. Patirica waited until the other two had left the room, before she went to go talk to Randy. She had to let him know first, him and Gill were family.

And she planned to keep family closer than anyone else.

* * *

As Patricia headed towards the roof, to speak to Randy, another important conversation was occurring by one of the tall shelves as Kenny and Sarita used hushed tones to discuss their situation.

"If it's a he... can we call him Kenny Junior?" Kenny enquired of his girlfriend, as she giggled and muttered "I'm not bothered Kenny. As long as the baby is happy and healthy, then I will focus on the name" Sarita told him, as he smiled and stroked her face, she noticed she was shaking slightly.

"We shouldn't have tried for kids" Kenny muttered sadly, as Sarita used her own hand to caress his face.

"No, we both agreed to this Kenny. We both need a child in our lives, we both need a new family. We both lost our old one's but we can create something new" she mused, but Kenny couldn't help but worry. Sooner rather than later the bump would start to show, and she had a stump for an arm... she looked so vulnerable.

"Sarita, I thought it was a safe time to have a baby. Then that damn cult shows up, and fuck..." he inhaled before he continued "Look wherever we go, if we stay here or head somewhere else. Please... please just look after yourself, I'll do everything I can too protect you and my kid. I can't lose it all again..." he began to sob, as Sarita embraced him tightly and let him sob on her shoulder.

"I'm not going anywhere Kenny. I promise you that" Sarita muttered.

"Really?" Kenny almost begged, Sarita and this new baby were the only things holding him together, he knew how easily he could lose them with this cult on the way, with all the guns and all those walkers outside the store's walls...

"Kenny look at me" Sarita said.

Kenny did so, both their brown orbs locked onto each other.

"Now, remember the last time I promised you I'd do something. I promised I execute the rebels and I did. I promised I'd shoot someone during the rebellion and I did. I promise you now, I will not die, I won't die, you won't die and our baby won't die. We will live. It's going to be tough, but we'll pull through. We pulled through our injures (she gestured at her arm and Kenny's eye) so we'll pull through this as well". Kenny seemed to slightly less anxious after her speech and so did Sarita herself. As she had stopped shaking, yet inside she was still scared of giving birth in a world like this. But she had Kenny...

"Should we tell everyone about it? Because sooner or later, it's gonna become obvious?" he moved onto his question, as Sarita nodded.

"We'll let them know soon, it's best to be clear on the matter. As the group will help us" Sarita summarised.

If she only knew about the Russians, stealing the meds she needed for a successful birth.

* * *

"I got raped by Stan over and over and over again and here I am joking about it again. I think I am truly going mad" Stephanie told the walker next to her.

Her and Nick had been speaking quite a lot since Eddie and Wyatt's prank, She hated the way Nick's lips would curl upwards into a smile whenever he saw her. Or how breathless he would get sometimes when speaking to her. She hated the jokes and the banter they would share... why did she joke about the rape that way? She was still traumatized by Stan's abuse of her, so why was she openly joking about it with Nick?

"It's like I'm inviting him to do the same thing" she carried on explaining to the walker, as it simply growled at her.

Why? She didn't know. All she knew is when she was around Nick she could joke about anything and it didn't seem bad. She hated that freedom. She hated the fact they spoke openly to each other. Nick had even told her...

_"It feels like a Goodman furnace in that store sometimes. everyone's judging me on what I did and the fights I got into, they don't say it but I can tell. Being out here is a breath of fresh air you know?"_

Nick was infamous for his temper, she was infamous for her isolation, talking to walkers and stealing things in the past. She didn't see the need to judge him, in fact it felt great that there was another outcast she could speak too. But this outcast had feelings, it wasn't a walker who simply growled at her.

"I hate the fact I'm growing on him. His just so easy to speak too, or is his just another Stan? I can't imagine Nick raping me, maybe that's I why joke about it with him. Just to make sure he doesn't have that dark sinister side,I mean I know his a loose cannon but his not malicious, he can't be like Stan or Bill" Stephanie thought aloud to the same nearby walker, who growled at her once again. Stephanie sighed, her thoughts wondering back to Nick.

and speaking of the devil.

"What you doing?" Nick asked, sitting down next to her, he must have crept up from behind her. For a man who was so tall... he could be so quiet.

"Nothing really, you?" Stephanie asked back as Nick scratched his growing hairs, his mullet starting to grow back in place.

"I'm off duty, I need to talk to you about something" Nick said this directly, as Stephanie froze, his tone was serious as his strong blue eyes found Stephanie's own. "Stef, if something happens to me. I want you to look after Sarah" he asked of her, the usual light tone in his voice was none existent, this request was serious.

Stephanie blinked, two questions instantly came from her throat.

"Nick... why are you asking me this now?" Nick didn't give an answer.

"And why me, why not anyone else?" Again Nick didn't give an answer. It was then Stephanie knew something was off, she could see it in his eyes. He was planning something drastic and she knew it.

"I...Nick... I'm running away. I can't!" Stephanie stuttered, her emotions exploding to the surface, her heart rate quickened when his face seemed to crumple in anger.

"You're doing what!?" He spat, as she gulped, now it was her turn not to answer any questions. But she wanted some answers from Nick, Nick came to her for a laugh, not to ask something serious of her. Something was up. Something big and in absence of Luke or anyone else he had turned to Stephanie as the last answer.

"I want to ask you the same question" Stephanie replied, none of them spoke. They both couldn't answer, yet someone stepped outside which broke the tension, as Stephanie turned to the towering form of Lilly.

"Oh hey Lilly" Stephanie began, Lilly seemed to ignore her, instead she simply passed by her and (without any warning) she threw a nearby stone into the dense foliage around the hardware store. A bush seemed to rustle, through the scope of her hunting rifle, Lilly gasped, Stephanie heard her mutter "I fucking knew it..."

"Lilly, what's going on?" Stephanie asked nervously.

"Get inside, the pair of you. Tell the group were leaving, burn the supplies we have left" Lilly ordered on the spot, as Nick muttered the words Stephanie was too shocked to mutter.

"Why!? What the fuck was all that about!?" he managed to demand from Lilly who gave him his answers.

"I threw that stone in the foliage and I saw someone move. It hit someone. I saw them move, I know I saw a guy, and I knew this was the case... the cult haven't shown up Nick because... _they're already here. They've been spying on us for weeks". _

Stephanie's stomach seemed to fail, she had been watching that treeline for weeks and saw nothing. She always put that feeling of being watched to the side, in general paranoia of the cult itself. She didn't actually think God knows how many of them, had been watching her speak to walkers for weeks on end. Watching her speak to Nick, watching everything... learning everything...

"Why the hell are they spying on us!? Why not just attack!?" Nick asked of Lilly again.

"I don't know, but I think now we've blown their cover, their little game is up and we have to go!" Lilly shouted, as the bushes ruffled behind them, the trio were already running inside, Stephanie looked back and her heart sank. Walkers were walking out from the treeline, they weren't stumbling.

"Shit! Looks like they've finally decided to show their faces!" Lilly shouted.

* * *

Clementine was nearly fast asleep, the office day proving as boring as ever. Luke seemed in a similar state, she wasn't expecting anything to happen.

So when the door almost flew off it's hinges and Lilly stormed in, followed closely by a pale faced Nick and Stephanie, she could certainly say she nearly had a heart attack. Luke seemed to yelp (showing some human emotion) as he sprang up in his seat. Lilly faced Luke directly and said the two words nobody wanted to hear.

_"They're here"_


	10. FUBAR

**A/N: WOO! Past the 100 review mark, even before the 10th chapter! I appericate all your reviews and support for this story, so I'll keep writing to keep you guys entertained! **

**FunFX2012- "Sarvo" seems like a pretty cool shipping name. But don't worry I won't chuck it at your face, (there are enough couples as it is!) **

**Eggomypeggo- "Sarvo" seems like an ideal shipping name.**

**Lockdown- I loved season 1 it was probably my favourite game of all time. However they were just a few things I disliked, such as Chuck's death (I wish we could have found him alive, so he could give Lee some last words of advice) and there were a few glitchy moments. But other than that I thought season 1 was flawless. Whereas Season 2 started off with at the same level, I loved All That Remains and A House Divided, yeah there were a few inconsistent characters and Clem was being treated too much like an adult, but It didn't bother me. But In Harm's way onwards... yeah the writing got quite bad after that. No Going Back was pretty damn good, but not as good as the first two episodes (well to me) so overall I'd give Season two a 7 out of 10. Brilliant, but could have easily been a 10, if written better.**

**Transformers g1's-prime- I'm glad you're liking Lilly's character and as for your question... I would change Chuck's death. So you found him dying and not dead. He could have given Lee some great last words of advice before dying, it would have made it sadder and more meaningful. Also (this opinion may prove unpopular) but have Kenny's walker's show up in front of the Marsh House. To confirm his death and end his arc and have Lee cut through his oldest friend to get to Clem. I loved him in season 2 and he was a good character, but his arc in season 2 (losing his wife/girlfriend, slow descent to madness) has been done before. Whereas Lilly would have proved a more interesting storyline had she returned. **

**XXXWOLFLOVERXXX- Thanks for the review! I'll be sure to use that line when I can! **

**Rebloxic- Everyone knew Sarita was dead meat from the minute we knew she was Kenny's girlfriend. No matter when she died we all knew it was going to happen, so I don't think she was killed off to early. (she could have used more development though) the fact that her character was simply used to develop Kenny is what bothers me (in the same way Sarah was used to develop Jane's character) we learnt a bit about her in A House Divided and was keen to learn more (like we did with Kajtaa with the three episodes we knew her) but sadly that never happened.**

**Chameishida and ffapathy- loving your reviews as always! and both of you picked on Lilly's part of the chapter... I find her surprisingly easy to write and she seems to be the growing star in this fic!**

**and thanks to the rest of you guys for reviewing! (oh and Gill and Clementine isn't something I'd ship, sorry. I can only see them as good friends, added to the fact their 11 and 12).**

* * *

The distant resounding rumbling of horns, confirmed one thing to a frozen Luke, they were truly here.

"They sound like tribal horns or something!" Stephanie exclaimed, still panicked by the sheer number of cultists she had seen, as her eyes nervously flickered back towards the door, as if expecting the walker skinned clad cultists to burst in at any second.

"A cult? They sound more like a tribe, primitive as fuck" Nick spat.

"Luke, what are we gonna do?" Clementine asked, her voice a nervous, jittery gasp as she sprung up from her chair and approached him, Luke slowly stood from his chair, and paced slowly around the room. His eyes trailed on the floor, as he muttered under his breath "shit... shit... shit..."

and within two seconds flat, it happened. There was a scurrying noise from outside and then everyone else from the store suddenly seemed to squeeze themselves into Luke's office. As a tidal wave of panicked voices nearly deafened little Clementine's ears.

"There here dammit!"

"THERE'S HUNDREDS OF THEM!"

"WHAT ARE GONNA DO!? LUKE!? LUKE!?"

"CLEM GET OVER HERE...!"

"EVERYONE CALM DOWN... LUKE WILL THINK OF SOMETHING...!"

"FUCK THIS, WERE HEADING FOR THE TRUCKS, WERE GETTING THE FUCK OUTTA HERE...!"

"BONNIE...!"

"THE RUSSIANS...!"

"WHAT!?"

"...MED'S...!"

"... WE SHOULD NEVER HAVE...!"

"EVERYONE SHUT UP!" Luke managed to scream at the top of his lungs, silencing the room completely, as everyone's panicked shouts dissolved to unnerved silence as all eyes found Luke. All 23 of them were crammed in this room, with Rebecca crushing Clementine as she was squeezed against a wall. She looked up to try and get a glimpse of Luke, but in the sudden silence a voice from muffled voice from outside spoke over them all.

"WE KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE! DON'T PANIC! AND DON'T SHOOT, WE ONLY WANT TO NEGOTIATE! AND SPEAK TO WHOEVER THE LEADER OF YOUR GROUP IS!"

There was an uncomfortable shuffling in the room, as heads turned and everyone's breathing seemed to fasten.

"That's bullshit, they'll shoot us all" Came Vitali's broken English, the first opinion of the cultists statement, this was followed by an outbreak of chatter across the room. But Clementine could only properly hear the conversation Rebecca and Eddie were having next to her.

"Sounded pretty normal for someone who walks around walker skins, and is a mass murder" Was Eddie's dry remark.

"They had those horn things, but that guy was speaking through a loudspeaker. That's strange..." Rebecca said, her brows furrowed in thought, as she held AJ ever tighter to her chest.

"Well, they do walk around in walker skins, but have guns. It seems they like to mix old tribal methods with new technology..." Was Eddie's observation on the matter, as Lilly managed to inform everyone that the cultists had been watching them weeks. Which only threw more questions into the stuffy air of the office.

"They were watching us?"

"Glad we didn't take the bodies from the moat now..."

Silence suddenly seemed to engulf the group once again, Clementine was rather confused by this silence, until she realised that Luke was addressing the group, as his voice grew louder and stronger...

"... we don't know why. But we know there here. Now, I'll go and see what they want, if things get hairy. Vince, get everyone in one of the trucks and drive outta here. Don't come back for anything, if some people get left behind, they'll have to be left behind. Stef, you put down the ramp, it's essential you do, I'll keep them talking so they don't shoot. Lilly, burn everything we can't take with us, the spare trucks especially..."

"THIS IS FUCKING NUTS! WE ALL NEED TO LEAVE NOW!" Vince yelled, losing his cool completely.

"We don't know what they want yet! We can't bust outta here and make them guaranteed enemies! When need to think this through!" Luke stressed, well he wasn't a robot any more, but he didn't look to peachy either.

"THEY WANT TO KILL US! THEY KILLED MOST OF OUR GROUP! THEY ARE ALREADY GUARANTEED ENEMIES!" Vitali roared, as Luke sighed.

"I'm going out there no matter what. Stef follow me and put get the ramp, some of you guys keep watch from the roof. If something happens run towards the truck Vince is by, and don't look back" Luke instructed, he sounded calm but his face was a different picture, as beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, chin and cheeks at an alarming rate.

"C'mon" he muttered to Stephanie, as the young woman nervously followed the leader of Howe's. In his state Clementine decided she would have to try and help.

"I'm coming too!" she piped up, as Rebecca looked down in surprise, unaware she was crushing Clementine, as she moved aside, Clementine waded her way through the sea of people to get to Luke, who looked down at her with sad eyes.

"Stay here Clem. If something happens to me... then I guess... you have to take charge"

Clementine was silent as Luke left the room. She was being asked to the sole leader of the group? She couldn't fathom such a thought, she was still only 11 years of age.

Vince summed up all her doubts in a single snarl.

"He wants us to negotiate with serial killers? and he wants an 11 year old to lead us? Fuck. That."

* * *

The group dispersed, Lilly off to destroy some supplies and Kenny, Eddie and Wyatt were stationed on the roof, using Gill as their messenger to deliver news updates every couple of minutes on the situation. The rest of the group stood nervously around the hanger door, with the truck in place. If the news was bad... (which Vince was expecting) then he'd get straight to the driver's seat and get out of there before the cultists knew what hit them. Kelly was trying to distract Sarah from events from pointing at the unicorns Eddie had drawn on the barricade for her 16th birthday, as the bespectacled girl tried to remain calm.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine" She kept telling herself, as her heart hammered on her chest and her breathing grew faster. She got anxious very easily... even after everything she'd been through with Nick, her problem remained. Diminished somewhat but still there.

The Russians stood to the side, Randy now knew they were stealing meds, Yet no one else did. His eyes kept flickering back to where they were huddled together, Arvo nervously tapping his foot against the floor, and Vitali and Natasha helping load the back of the truck with vital supplies, if all they were going to do was steal from the group, then Randy had to make a drastic choice.

He couldn't let them on the truck with them. They could endanger Gill's or Patricia's lives.

He had tried yelling the truth about the Russians back in the office for everyone to hear, but nobody heard him. His voice was drowned out completely by the others voices, now him and Patricia were going to wait for the right moment, as Randy watched the Russian group in silence...

Clementine couldn't stand waiting in the silence, people would murmur occasionally but everyone was nearly at breaking point. The tension was too much and according to scraps of information from Gill, (they all had walkie talkie's they could have used to relay information, but Clementine guessed everyone had lost their heads and forgotten about them) the cult had the store surrounded, hundreds of them were simply stood there. At the edge of the moat, guns in their flaky fingers, just staring at the store. They didn't seem to speak (other than Luke with one other member of the cult) and didn't seem to react to anything. Gill said it was "creepy", Clementine had to agree. She simply helped a few bags into the back of the truck, feeling all eyes rest on her occasionally, if Luke died... then what? They were looking at her, as if they expected her to lead them. Or were they doubting her?

She tried to keep a calm face. Despite everything.

* * *

Luke stepped out of the store, in all honesty not really caring if they shot him down or not. All anyone did in that store was criticize his every move, no doubt right now they'd be criticizing his decision to stay at the store, because the cult had shown up.

Stephanie trailed behind him, shrinking in the eyes of the hundreds of cultists as she tried to use the ramp to obscure them from her vision. Adults, and she even saw a few small forms... children? Children were in this cult? Carrying guns? The thought sickened her, it was one thing to be like Clementine, who was tough. and then to be a child serial killer...

Luke eyed some of the child cult members in mild interest, he was expecting lots of adults, but no kids. There weren't many children present, but their expressions were serious as the adults, they remained silent like the adults and held themselves in the same way. The guns looking way too large in their tiny fingers... Luke tore his eyes away from the walker wannabes, as a voice from a loudspeaker called "OVER HERE!"

He turned towards the voice, as he approached the cultist that said it, that was waiting for him at the other side of the moat. As he approached the moat, he recognised some navy green clothing...

No.

He froze, unable to believe it. Gasping out loud, as the cultist smiled back at him.

Wearing the skin and clothes of Peter Joseph Randall.

There was a silence as a breeze ruffled past, Luke stared right into the cultist's frozen grey eyes, they weren't Pete's warmly brown eyes. Seeing how this man was wearing Pete's corpse, Luke could now clearly grasp how horrific the situation truly was. Before he just saw the cult as walkers... but this man was wearing the skin of someone who was like a second father to Luke. Wearing his skin as if he were a deer that had been skinned...

Pete's skin was pale and decomposing, but Luke knew his bald head, nose and beard anywhere, his build, his clothing... everything. It was Pete. Or what was left of him, there was a gaping hole in his stomach area, and looking past the torn skin, Luke could see that this man had clothing on underneath Pete's corpse... he also saw the man had worn Pete's legs... Pete's trousers were torn... and his feet bare. Luke did not want to know what had happened to Pete's corpse, did they pull out his guts and carve him out like a pumpkin? Luke could see where Pete's eyes had been... they were torn off, as was his mouth. Both replaced by that of the cultist who was wearing him.

Someone was wearing Peter Joseph Randall. Someone was wearing his corpse, no matter how many times Luke repeated that phrase it wouldn't settle in his head. It was too horrific... his world was going dizzy, he felt like he was going to be sick...

"Hey, are you okay?" Stephanie asked, noticing how Luke was gazing ahead, a look of utter horror on his face. He gulped loudly, trying his hardest to return to reality and keep his cool. His whole group was at sake, he couldn't let them down just because he was shocked. He managed to get out to Stephanie, "No It's fine... put the ramp down" he instructed as Stephanie uncertainly did so.

"It's okay Stephanie, you can put the ramp down, I want to speak to Luke up close and personal" The Cult member wearing Pete's corpse uttered to her. Stephanie paled as she lowered the ramp across the moat.

How the hell did this man know her name? How did she know Luke's name?

She didn't say a word however, stealing quick glances at the man... he had a powerful posture and seemed like the leader of this cult. The ramp landed with a dull clang at his end of the moat, he smiled as Stephanie looked up at him again. Green clothes... bald guy... beard... she tried to remember all these details, she'd have to tell the others this later. Luke seemed to know who this guy was, she could tell by how horrified he looked staring at him. But she didn't and she was curious to know. This man knew their names... he didn't seem to know earlier when he called for the "leader" of Howe's.

What mind games was this man playing?

If he knew Luke's name earlier, why not just call him out there and then? Why was he wearing the corpse of a man Luke obviously knew? How much did this cult know about them all? How long had they listened to her speaking to watchdogs?

Knowledge was power. This cult had knowledge, Stephanie had always pictured them to be savages, running across the pine forest, shooting and skinning every survivor they came across. In reality the cult were... creepy and clever. They were already playing sick mind games with Luke and this scared her to the core. She felt just as exposed as she did when she was being beaten by Carver... and that fear only stemmed from the fact this man knew her name. It put her on edge... what else did they know? Wait, she had told Nick she was running away... they overheard that! They must have done! She was on edge now, as her heart-rate increased...

"Thanks Stef, you can go inside now" Luke told her softly. Usually Stephanie wouldn't want to leave Luke alone with this creepy cult. But fear propelled her inside of the Hardware Store as fast as her legs would carry her.

"Pretty girl. Good guard and all" the man said as Stephanie disappeared back into the Howe's. He crossed the ramp with a slow sort of confidence, Luke had to keep blinking, and looking into the man's eyes. This wasn't Pete speaking. This wasn't Pete, it was cult guard. That was all. Kenny, Eddie and Wyatt on the roof trained their guns on the man who slowly crossed the bridge. They didn't know who Pete was, (well Wyatt and Eddie had known him a short time, but his clothing was different now and they were at too much of a distance to tell it was him). The trio didn't shoot. Not unless the man shot first, which he didn't. Instead he simply stopped a few feet in front of a frozen Luke.

"This is my group, I'm leader. Pleasure to finally _meet you in the skin,_ Luke" he said extending a decomposing hand, Luke had force himself to shake it, this man's voice... it wasn't cold. Nor warm either... he couldn't decipher any meaning behind the words, it was making him edgy beyond belief.

"How do you know my name? How did you know Stef's?" He asked, a slight hostility in this tone, he wanted to see how this man would react to an accusation against him. The man underneath Pete's skin, only gave Luke a stiff sort of smile.

"Observations we've made. We know a little bit about your group Luke" The man said, Luke was finding it too bizarre to be talking to Pete... no, not Pete! He tried to clear his mind of Pete, but it was too hard. He simply ended up staring at the man who decided to ask a question of his own, "You didn't know this man I'm wearing do you?" it was then Luke detected something very dark and sinister intertwined the man's innocent question. He must have known... he must have known who Pete was. Somehow, he had worn Pete's corpse to unnerve him. They found's Pete corpse somehow and... he didn't want to think about it.

"No... I've never seen that guy before" Luke found himself muttering. It seemed like the man wanted him to admit it was Pete, that he knew this man. For some reason, Luke found it essential to keep his nerve in front of this cult leader. Maybe if he could just whip out his pistol now and... no. It would be a bloodbath if he shot the leader. They would all open fire and... the whole group would be doomed in an instant. They wouldn't escape on time, the truck would be torn to pieces, tyres blown and deflated, windows smashed... no, that couldn't happen. Luke had to maintain his cool.

"Hmm..." the leader hummed, as he turned around, it was then Luke noticed a second horrible sight. One of the cultists the leader was looking at, was wearing the corpse of Walter. Luke knew that woolly t-shirt... the grey hairs... and next to Walter stood... it couldn't have been. (They even had his glasses) but the corpse of Alvin. His clothes, along with the hole in his head where Carver had shot him in the ski lodge. The corpses of friends that had been killed... he was relieved that they had burned the corpses of Jane, Shel, Russell along with some of the other guards now. He couldn't bear to see them like this...

If Nick was out here. Or Rebecca... they would have been in hell. Luke couldn't tell them about this.

"Are you sure you don't know any of these people. You look troubled" the leader noticed, this wasn't a coincidence. This man and the other two men wearing the corpses of Alvin and Walter knew who these people were. Luke realised if they had Alvin and Walter's corpses, the cult had been watching them long before they were at Howe's. Maybe they had been following his group since Pete, Nick and Clementine had found the massacre at the river, they thought they were being chased down by Carver... but behind the scenes there was a force even greater than Carver. Someone else always watching... lurking... silent but more powerful than Carver would have ever been...

"Nope. I'm just bothered by a few issues between my group and your's" Luke said, tearing his eyes from Alvin and Walter. As the man let out a shallow sort of laugh and said "Ah yes, nasty business. Killing those who don't share our belief. It's tragic what we have to do, but it has to be done. It simply has too. I know you have people in there we have shot at, but were willing to forgive you and welcome you all with open arms into our group. Were planning to use this store as a place of rest and shelter for us all. Our group's pretty damn big so we need a lot of outposts and stations..." the man was speaking on, as if this was merry conversation across a dinner table. Not a life or death situation, Luke felt his grip on reality sliding further and further away.

"Just, what do you want?" Luke finally asked, his voice weary and irritated as the man paused in his sentence and told him "Well, we were observing you. That was until Lilly found out we were here, we were just spying to see if you were friendly. You have a big group here, a well fortified store. We'd be happy for you to join our large group. Just be here at midnight tonight, we'll return here and accept you into our group" the man said, leaving way too many blanks in his simple explanation.

"What are your beliefs? Why are you leaving here and returning at midnight?" Luke demanded to know.

"Can't say, but if you're here at midnight, then you'll have accepted our beliefs and you will be free to join the group. If you don't accept our beliefs then we'll have to shoot you. And were leaving to get our welcoming ceremony ready, we need to fetch the rest of the group, this is a pretty small detachment of the group here..."

"Small!?" Luke seemed to shriek, looking around at the hundreds of cultists around him.

"Yeah, it's a big group. There are no massive drastic beliefs, so don't worry yourself. We'll leave to get the others, we'll all be back at midnight. If you try to rebel, or run away we will kill you. It's as simple as that really. We simply can't have people refusing our beliefs, I'm sorry but we've offered you a peaceful deal here. Were giving you time to prepare and to talk with your group about it. So... be ready for it!" Luke couldn't register any of this, it was too much. The death threats, there was no malice, no growling, no snarls that the man made. He sounded like a cheesy salesman quickly trying to advertise something to Luke, that he wasn't interested in.

And what was all this about giving them hours to decide? It was clear any sane person would flee, so why were the cult allowing this break period. Did they generally believe Luke and co would stay to accept beliefs they didn't know? That they would trust a cult that had shot at survivors mercilessly for months? That they would stay to join a cult like that with no question? It was like the cult wanted them to flee.

"I don't even know your name. It would just seem polite to know" Luke muttered, as the man turned away and started to walk across the ramp once again.

"You will find out tonight. When you stay tonight, you will learn the ways of our group, it was nice talking to you Luke. I know you and your group are sane, sensible people in such a hellish world. You will see common sense. Farewell for now... _friend_".

The leader grasped something from his waist and blew into a long horn, the deep sound vibrated across the pine tree's as this was followed by another horn and then another... as the leader walked into the tree-line. The cult all turned after him and walked away silently, hundreds of people were gone within minutes. Luke watched them, they were generally leaving and not hanging around, as he peered through the tree's to see their silhouettes grow more distant, until he couldn't see them anymore. They were gone. They were truly gone until midnight tonight.

Luke was left in silence. He turned back towards the Hardware store. Unable to digest everything he had seen and heard.

And not knowing how he would explain it to the others.

* * *

"THEIR LEAVING!" Gill shouted, skidding next to Clementine, announcing this important news to the group, as all heads whipped his way.

"What!? Their leaving, all of them. Just like that?" Rebecca asked sceptically, clicking her fingers together for effect. As Gill nodded virgiously, as he did Kenny, Eddie and Wyatt ran down from the roof.

"Is it true? Those fuckers just turned and left?" Mike enquired, as Eddie nodded and Kenny added "I saw Luke speaking to one of them, must have been the leader. They only spoke for a bit, but they all just turn heel and leave... it's fucking madness" Kenny finished his account, standing close by Sarita. As he did so, the burly form of Luke himself emerged from the hanger door. He looked dazed.

And he was instantly bombarded with questions, as he found himself swamped by the group.

"WHAT DID THEY WANT!?"

"ARE THEY LEAVING FOR GOOD!?"

"DID YOU MAKE A DEAL WITH THEM!?"

"LUKE! ARE YOU OKAY!"

"HEY! LUKE MAN, YOU LOOK PALE AS SHIT...!"

When the group calmed themselves, Luke told them everything the leader cultist had told him. Omitting the most obvious detail of seeing Pete, Alvin and Walter's corpses. Kenny would have reconsigned Alvin or Walter, but these two figures were in the treeline and he was too distant from him. So he didn't seem them and neither did Wyatt or Eddie. Luke felt he had to keep this too himself, if the group knew... they'd be in more of a panicked state than they were in now. He couldn't allow it. Not with Nick and Rebecca already looking at him nervously as he told his tale.

When he finished, he looked around at the group at large, as Lilly massaged her forehead.

"That reasoning they gave is bullshit, most of the cult were watching us. They may have a few others elsewhere, but no way in hell was that a small detachment. They either pretended to leave, or their up to something else" she stated, as Kenny challenged her view (as was natural) "No, they are as good as gone, saw all of em' walking away..."

"Gone till Midnight" Bonnie chipped in, eyeing the truck in front of her.

"It must be about 3 in the afternoon around now. We've got quite a bit of time" Mike added, as he gazed around the hardware store, no one needed to say it. But Vince did anyway.

"Well Luke. I think it's high time to leave, don't you?"

Luke looked up at him, the group was silent as they awaited his response, with one last longing look around the store they had fought so hard to get, he muttered sadly...

"Yeah. Everyone grab what you can. Were leaving in a hour"

No way in hell were they staying to find out what the cult had in store for them, as soon as Luke said this the group scurried off in opposite directions ready to grab everything they could to take with them into the truck, as Luke announced "Were headin' up to Wellington! That's our next destination! We need to put as much space between us and the damn cult as possible!" as Kenny bellowed a loud "HEAR! HEAR!" in agreement.

Clementine looked around, the store she had used her second chance to get... it had held out for nearly a year. She had fond and happy memories of this place and she could already tell she was going to miss it dearly. Lilly was already using Mike's lighter to burn excess supplies and trucks... soon this whole store would be gone and there would be No Going Back.

Instead they were heading out into the wild.

_Going To Ruin. _


	11. The First Casualty

**A/N: Okay, not much to say other than I have a free week this week, so updates will probably come even more frequently than usual, so again thank you guys for your continued support!**

**ffapathy- Thanks for your reviews and I'm glad you pointed out the part about Randy as he will have his chance to shine this chapter. As for the cult... yes I'm trying to make them as vague as possible, but I've already got it lined up about what their ultimate intentions/motives are. And as for people being left behind... you'll find that out shortly. **

**Transformers g1's-prime- Yeah, I can write pretty messed up stuff when put my mind to it, as for your question I can imagine him sticking by Lilly when she shot Carley and hence they'd stay in the group. But Larry would begin to show a more vulnerable side when worrying about his daughter and her mental health. Hence the player may have been able to sympathise with him more, then I could imagine him dying either in Episode 3 (on the train or when meeting Omid and Christa and not getting away from the herd in time) or in episode 5 by helping Lee (in a bizarre twist) but yeah Larry was a big character. It was a shame he was killed off quite early on, but then again it was surprising. **

**Chameishida- I'm glad I've made creepiest big baddies in any fanfiction you've read, as they may seem like stereotyped bad guys, in the sense they'll shoot anything and wear people's skins. But by leaving their motivations vague at the moment (along with their beliefs) makes the reader more intrigued and wary of them (fear of unknown). and as you can probably tell from the title of this chapter... you're going to be on the end of your seat/bed again. **

**AquaDestinysEmbrace- Thanks you for your review! and as for the cult... you'll see how messed up they are this chapter.**

**Rebloxic- By the end of this chapter, I imagine you're going to pull a troy on me (please don't) but the title you can guess one of the 23 is about to meet their maker. **

**Lockdown- Thanks! I like that Luke is coming across as a very flawed character in this fic, but someone people still like and root for, (similar to Kenny in the game) and as for the 400 days characters... I imagine they have been killed off. As Telltale seemed finished with them. **

**and thanks to the rest of you! now I'll get on with this chapter!**

* * *

"Are you sure about all this?" Wyatt panted, dragging a heavy piece of metal along the tiled floor of the hardware store, as Eddie helped him place it on the front of the truck they planned to use. Mike was already crouching over, bolting the piece of metal on the front of the truck.

"Yeah, dude we can't drive a simple truck through a herd of walkers and a possible bullet-storm . If we fortify the trucks, it will be safer for everyone" Eddie's wise words, were clearly not his own. Wyatt trained his half lidded, teal eyes towards Mike, who gave him an instant explanation.

"Vince's idea. He says the truck's might go slower with all this excess stuff on. But he says it's necessary and hell I agree with the dude" he explained, as Bonnie began to pour gallons of fuel into the truck, hopefully enough to keep it running until it reached Michigan.

"I still don't know why Vince isn't our leader. Luke's a nice guy, but his fucking lost it" Wyatt muttered, gazing around carefully to ensure Luke wasn't around to hear such words. Seeing as Luke wasn't in the vicinity he continued...

"I mean Vince saved my life. The dude lead us for God knows how long in that camp and the six of us were fine there. Me, Shel, Becca, Russell, Bonnie and him... yeah we had to scavenge like fucking raccoons for food, but he led us, he gave us a direction and a purpose..." Wyatt was aware of himself almost ranting now as Eddie nodded dimly in agreement.

"I hear you man and I agree with you. I don't even know where Luke is at the moment" Mike said casting a glance around the main area of the store, he could see the occasional somebody flying past, such as Lilly who was busy burning various bit and bobs with his lighter and little Gill who scurried under the legs of the adults carrying all he could in his small hands... but in the midst of everyone. Their "leader" was missing.

"Now y'all don't be too harsh on him, I know Luke's losing it, but his trying his hardest..." Bonnie began popping her head into the conversation, as she continued to pour fuel into the truck.

"But his hardest isn't enough" came Vince's voice, as he stepped from where he was listening in from the other side of the truck. Mike, Eddie, Wyatt and Bonnie paled considerably upon seeing him, even though their review of Vince had been positive, as Bonnie began to stutter "Vince! We erm... we didn't..."

"No, I'm flattered by what you guys are saying" Vince said, stepping forward his blackish eyes directed ahead of him, not resting on a single person for more than a second. He didn't seem to speak, promoting Wyatt to speak to break the growing silence "Vince. I don't care what anyone says, but we all know you're our true leader" as Mike and Eddie nodded in agreement muttering "yeah... yeah" upon receiving these heaps of praise. Vince's façade broke, no longer was did he wear the face of an impassive leader. But that of a embarrassed schoolboy, as he smiled shyly at the others and ran a slow hand through his tangled black hair.

"Well... thanks guys" he muttered at last. Before his face hardened once again and he looked directly at Wyatt and said (in a clear voice) "Tell you what, if you think I am your leader. Can you do something for me?" this request was met with an instant "Sure" from Wyatt.

"Can you go find Kelly for me? I think I saw her going outside and I just want to know that's she alright, especially with that cult around" Vince instructed as Wyatt nodded and proceeded to go and look for Kelly. Vince's eyes trailed Wyatt's form as he searched around the shelves.

"Teach me your secret, please Vince. Because I can't get Wyatt to do a single thing for me" Eddie begged, as Mike chuckled dryly at Eddie's comment.

"But it's sweet. I guess you really like her" Bonnie seemed to chirp in joy, despite the bleak situation they were in. Vince muttered in response to Bonnie's comment "Yeah, we have to keep those we care about close"

_"and our enemies closer"_ Bonnie thought, only realising at that moment, that the Russians were no where to be seen.

* * *

"Vitali... no!" Natasha hissed, as Vitali crept into the closet where the remaining meds were kept stocked on the shelves, he opened the door with a cautious creek.

"Arvo, is there anyone behind us!?" Vitali said, peering into the pitch black closet, he had decided it was either now or never, seeing as everyone else was preoccupied he knew that they (especially Natasha) would need the majority of meds stocked up with them, despite Arvo's moaning and Natasha's warning's. Vitali had gone ahead with it anyway, they would see. They would see that out there, they had to focus on_ their_ little group. Not the others.

"I can't believe I'm getting myself involved in this" Christa snapped, her long legs bent at an odd angle, the tall woman was trying hard to keep herself out of sight.

"Keep quiet!" Vitali hissed back at her, as she glared back at him. As Vitali turned to the teenager in his group "Arvo, is anyone coming?"

Arvo peered through his glasses,and through the gaps in shelves. He saw the occasional person scurrying by, or back towards the truck, but none of their gazes rested upon the small closet door and none of them stopped to inspect it. They were pre-occupied on other things, so with this in mind, Arvo muttered with certainty back to Vitali "No, they are all busy. No one is coming".

"Now or never then" Vitali muttered, as the Russian man quickly slipped past the open crack in the door, despite Natasha's resounding "Stop..." seeing as she could draw no sense into her fellow group member. She simply swore in Russian and trailed in the room after him. Arvo and Christa shared a quick glance at one another and deciding that there was no stopping it, they followed Natasha and Vitali into the dark room.

"Let's make this quick" Christa told her group as they all looked around the dark room, Vitali was already using his hands to scour for meds in the dark, as Christa reached for the light switch near to the door. But then Vitali yelped as he crashed into something... there was a shuffling and another deep male shout in the darkness. The light flickered on overheard, as Vitali looked down upon the pile of clothing he had crashed into... the pile of clothes was moving!

"WHAT THE HELL!?" Arvo yelled in panic, as the man looked up at them, from where he was bent over in the darkness.

"Kenny!?" Christa babbled in bewilderment, looking at where the bearded man was crouched over on the floor, she then saw the form of a pale Sarita shielded behind Kenny's burly form, as the dim light of the small room cast sinister looking shadows across their faces. Both of them didn't seem to shocked at being discovered in this room, their expressions remained emotionless and they remained in their positions. Unflinching.

"What are you doing in here...?" Christa began to ask, walking towards him. But she got close enough to see it all, as a loose bottle of painkillers rolled away from where Kenny had a dozen of them bundled in his arms.

"Oh My God..." Christa whispered, as the truth dawned on her.

Kenny was stealing meds.

"She-needs-them" Kenny finally responded in a snarl, looking up at Christa with hardened eyes. The silence and the tension in the air grew to higher levels, up until Christa couldn't stand it anymore.

"Kenny. Step away from the meds" Christa instructed coldly, as the Floridian shook his head.

"You don't understand, Sarita needs these Christa" Kenny almost seemed to be begging of the taller woman, as a gun clicked and Kenny found the dangerous end of a rifle in his face, as Vitali snarled "Get up" training his rifle on Kenny's musty greying hairs.

"Vitali... please..." Natasha begged, but Vitali's eyes never left Kenny's head.

"Okay, okay were getting up. We don't want any trouble, do we Kenny?" Sarita nervously gasped to a silent Kenny. Kenny didn't say a word, but his eyes were blazing as he slowly (but surely) lifted himself to his feet, his pistol lying untouched and tucked into his trousers.

"Good, good, now give us the meds" Vitali demanded, his gun still trained on Kenny's head, as Kenny still used both of his arms to cradle the meds to his chest. As the mostly white bottles, gleamed the dull light of the room. Vitali eyed them like they were pearls... his knuckles were white as he was clutching his gun so hard. Kenny seemed to gulp, but slowly extended his arms...

"Here" he began in a quiet voice. Before he suddenly dropped the bottles of meds to the ground, as the bottles and bags fell, they cascaded onto Vitali's feet, the Russian man lost his balance for a second. But a second was all that Kenny needed, as a well aimed fist sent Vitali sprawling to the floor. In these second of madness Kenny whipped his gun on Vitali.

"STAY FUCKING STILL! MOTHERFUCKER!" Kenny bellowed, a look of fury evident on his face, as he jabbed his pistol in Vitali's face who still lay sprawled on the floor. Kenny's knuckles managing to do some significant damage to him, as his nose looked bruised and thin trail of blood slowly dribbled from one of his nostrils. He looked up at Kenny with a familiar fury...

Guns were un-holstered, Natasha and Christa aimed at Kenny. Causing Sarita to train her own gun on Natasha's form. As Kenny turned around to gaze upon these new threats, Vitali managed to grab his own rifle once again and aim it at Kenny. Noticing this Kenny slowly began to back into a corner. It was 3 on 2. Arvo didn't want to get involved, it was evident by the way the Russian teenager was stumbling towards the door.

"All of you! Stop this!" he begged, yet nobody's gun's wavered at all.

"So... looks like I'm not the only stealing the meds" Kenny muttered darkly towards a clammy looking Christa, the sweat building on her fingers causing her gun to slide slightly in her grip.

"She-needs-it! I can't abandon these guys!" Christa yelled, pointing towards Natasha and gesturing at the group she was with, as Kenny let out a harsh laugh.

"So, you're siding with them over us! Over me and Clem! So much for being old friends!" Kenny spat, as Christa's bottled up furies came pouring out of her mouth.

"Oh please, what have you or Clem actually done for _me!?"_ Christa finally snapped, her eyes wide and the grip of her gun tightening, as she felt her body stiffen. Her finger hovering towards the trigger as her voice grew louder... "THESE GUYS HELPED ME! THEY TREATED ME LIKE I WAS ACTUALLY A MEMBER OF THEIR GROUP! THEY ARE FAMILY! ALL YOU DID WAS DRAG ME THROUGH SAVANNAH! AND CLEMENTINE GOT OMID KILLED!" Christa didn't speak for a few seconds, the weight of her own words only hitting her when she saw how Kenny's eyes narrowed. He looked disgusted with her.

"Take. That. Back." He growled dangerously, his own finger nearing the trigger. His eye twitching somewhat.

Christa didn't say anything, but the silent tears that fell from her eyes were things she couldn't stop. Nor could she explain.

Kenny and Christa remained glaring at each other however, as Natasha spat out a question "So..." she snarled at Sarita as the two woman made eye contact "Why are you here. Why are you backing him up?"

Sarita exhaled, her expression calm as she looked over at the young blonde woman "I made a promise" she uttered. She had indeed, she had made the promise that herself, her baby and Kenny would all live. If she had to shoot Natasha now to ensure they would live. She knew she had it in her, to do it. She may have only had one arm, but that's all that was needed to lift a gun and shoot it.

"JUST STOP THIS!" Arvo screamed in fear, backing away towards the door. The teenager was close to tears.

"YOU KNOW WE FUCKING NEED THESE ARVO! DON'T SUCH A PUSSY AND HELP YOUR SISTER FOR ONCE!" Vitali screamed at Arvo in Russian, causing the brown haired boy to heave up a few tears... he felt so pathetic.

"This will not end well" he sobbed his warning out to the group, no one seemed to be paying him attention, other than one man who responded to his comment.

"No..." Randy growled, as several pairs heads whipped around to face him in alarm. His gun was trained on the group in the closet, as the red headed man blocked the doorway, as he responded to Arvo's comment.

"... it won't".

* * *

They were only three watchdogs left. It should have been an easy job, a quick job. Yet Stephanie found herself gazing at them in a sad manner. Knowing once all of them were gone, her time at this store was truly over. She wanted to leave, but only when the situation got bad and she could take off by herself. Now she was being forced to leave alongside everyone else... she just wished the happy days could have lasted longer.

"Man, I'm sorry about this" she found herself saying to the watchdog below her.

"So am I" the watchdog replied.

Stephanie blinked, the knife she held high above her head froze in place, (it was the same knife she kept on her most of the time, the knife she had used to brutally kill Stan) as she dared to believe whether or not a walker had just actually spoken. She knew she wasn't hearing things.

A walker had spoken. That could only mean one thing.

She reacted it the nick of time, flying out of the way as the walker used a sharp knife he had hidden under his folds of skin and lashed out at Stephanie. It pierced a few inches of flesh, as Stephanie found herself with a large gash, spreading from her collarbone to centre of her chest. Grunting in pain, she ignored the red line engrained into her skin and her torn t-shirt. Instead she simply focused on using her knife to slice at the man's neck. She hit it with a lot of force and it only then managed to penetrate under_ both_ layers of skin. As the watchdog bled and fell to the floor.

Stephanie was enraged, as an adrenaline rush overtook her body. If she moved a second later... that man would have easily have silt her neck. Luckily she was hit lower than that, so the cut wasn't fatal... but still. Gripping her knife tight, Stephanie got on top of the squirming man and mercilessly began to stab any bit of flesh below her.

"DIE... YOU FUCKING CREEP!" She bellowed. Suddenly, it wasn't a cultist below her. It was Stan in that burning room. Through his blood drenched teeth he still leered up at her... as she stabbed away... right in the centre of his stupid head! Wanting to obliterate every detail of it! Her eyes were nearly popping out of her head, she was wheezing as she endlessly stabbed away at the man... the stan... the man! Yes! This man and Stan! They weren't any different! Stephanie wanted to obliterate them all! Make them go away! She had to make them go away! All her foes and friends... they had to go away! She couldn't be put through that pain again!

The man and Stan, both killed by her. Both the same. Shel, Becca, Roman, Boyd her baby compared to Nick, Sarah, Clementine, Gill, Wyatt and Eddie. Both destined to die. Both the same.

Stephanie's frantic thoughts died in her head, as she heard someone calling her name, looking up, she found another watchdog training it's gun to her head. The other one was also up and had his gun aimed at her.

"Ah, Stephanie. Stephanie. It was nice listening to you" the watchdog purred.

"So, that was how you spied on us, smart technique, you guys discover Oscars for acting like walkers" Stephanie snarled up at them.

"Yeah, it's amazing what a bit of walker skin and a few smuggled supplies in it can do. You can get all the information from you guys. and then switch with someone else... course going to the toilet is a nightmare. But I suppose we had you fooled" The watchdog told her, as Stephanie simply laughed.

"Yeah! You were brilliant. You even kept the chains on your feet! So, Now what? You kill me? Because I deny your beliefs?" Stephanie mockingly asked.

"It has to be done" the watchdog replied, the gun still in his fingers as he looked around "We know there's a high chance of us dying doing this. But were willing to let our lives down for the faith. And our leader was right!_ He was right!" _the watchdog seemed overjoyed as Stephanie felt inclined to ask, "Right about what?"

"Everything! He is right! Looking at you... I can see he was right! Because look at you pretty little Stephanie! Butchering human beings in cold blood! Just keep running away from everything Stephanie! Run away from us! Run away from your humanity! Because...!"

He never finished the sentence, as the raving watchdog was hit with a bullet to the head, he was dead before he hit the ground. The second watchdog whipped around too little too late. As a second bullet pierced his skull as he also fell to the floor. A surprised Stephanie looked up and saw her saviours were running out towards her. Sarah and Lilly.

"You alright!?" Lilly asked, as Stephanie slowly got off the cultist she had butchered. Looking down... she realised she had caused a bit of mess. There were stab marks all over the man's corpse and his head was an unrecognisable mess of mushy brains (the whole walker skin stuff, just made it even more gory) Stephanie was coated in blood, it drenched her clothes and it dripped from her face and long hair.

"They were cultists! The watchdogs were cultists! That's how they were spying on us!" Stephanie yelled, as Lilly simply nodded. "We know. Me and Sarah saw them, she saved you from the first guy, I shot the second" Stephanie looked down at a shaking Sarah. As the timid teenager held a shaking pistol (the one Lilly had given her months beforehand) in her fingers. Lilly placed a hand on Sarah's shoulders.

"Easy there Sarah. You did well" Lilly tried to tell the younger girl in her softest voice. Sarah looked up at Lilly, with fearful eyes.

"T-that's the first person. I-i've actually killed" she stuttered barely able to believe she had done it. As Stephanie mentally cursed herself, feeling responsible as she had deprived Sarah of a massive chunk of her innocence. _She_ was the one that needed saving and Sarah had saved her... at a cost. As the girl shook like a leaf as Lilly gently muttered "That wasn't a person Sarah. That was a thing. Something evil that didn't deserve to live, you did a good thing, you shot the right thing. You saved Stef, she would be dead if it wasn't for you".

"Yeah. Thanks Sarah" Stephanie added, rather awkwardly. She felt she wasn't good around kids. As Sarah seemed to regain herself with a deep breath.

"Okay, I'm okay..." she told herself as Lilly smiled, "Good. Head back inside and find the others. I'll be with you shortly" Sarah wasn't able to smile, but departed to the store. Not feeling all to guilty, She had saved Stephanie's life... if only she could have done the same with her father...

Lilly and Stephanie were alone in the car park, Lilly's eyes rested on Stephanie's wound. A defensive Stephanie put an arm around it, "It's fine. It just stings a little" Stephanie lied. In all fairness it stung quite a lot and Lilly could see right through that lie.

"It will need treating, oh and Stephanie..." Lilly called out, as Stephanie murmured "yeah" in response.

"You may want to rethink about running away. (Stephanie opened her mouth) Nick told me. Don't judge him, he wants what's best for you and so do I" and with this Lilly dropped something into her hand "You'll need this. I just know you will" she told the younger woman. Stephanie rather liked Lilly and looked up to her quite a bit, she muttered a short "Thanks" as Lilly smiled at her. Before heading back into the store. Stephanie looked down to see that Lilly had given her the group's only remaining flare gun. (After Bonnie used the last one to save the store in the first place).

"Wonder why Lilly would want me to have this?" Stephanie asked, herself. Never the less she pocketed it.

* * *

"Please... just let me out of here" Arvo murmured, his lower lip quivering.

"No, you're all in on this. You're all out for yourselves!" Randy spat at them. Arvo couldn't take it any more, he screamed and bolted towards the door. Randy didn't flinch instead he simply grabbed the skinny teenager by the throat and threw him backwards, upon hitting the floor with a painful THUMP. Arvo screamed and crawled towards the corner of the room, sobbing uncontrollably.

"I haven't done anything! I haven't done anything! Blame them! Blame them! Blame them!" Arvo begged, pointing a shaky finger at everyone who was still pointing guns towards each other. No one really paid attention to him as he cowered in the corner, instead Randy turned towards the group itself, which was the more pressing matter at hand.

"So, you Russians, Christa, Kenny and Sarita..." Randy tutted in disappointment, his gun still trained on them all.

"You don't understand! Natasha has an illness! She screams in the night if she doesn't get those meds!" Vitali yelled in his group's defence as Natasha paled and shot daggers at Vitali. She never felt so humiliated now that her secret had come to light. Yet Kenny didn't seem to care.

"SO FUCKING WHAT IF SHE'S ILL! SARITA'S PREGNANT!"

Now there truly was a shocked silence, even Arvo's sobs subsided upon learning this news. As Christa's found herself automatically lowering her gun to the floor. She couldn't steal meds from a pregnant woman! "Vitali, Natasha, we have to let Sarita have these. We can't steal from her! Not if she's pregnant!" Christa tried to reason, as Kenny found his faith in Christa returning.

"I don't care Crystal! You can't base this off past experiences!" Vitali snarled back at her.

"If you don't lower your fucking gun! I'll shoot you first!" Randy warned of Vitali who simply shrugged him off, "I'll kill every fucking enemy in this fucking room!" Vitali ranted, brandishing his gun. Natasha seemed to slowly shrink against the wall, while Vitali, Kenny, Sarita and Randy were still fully pointing guns at each other.

"You can't tell anyone of this Randy! They won't let us on the truck!" Christa begged of him, as Randy shook his head.

"That's the point! You people can't get on that truck! You're a danger to the group! All of you! I'm going to tell Luke and I'm going to tell Vince and you'll have to make your own way to Wellington" Randy spat at them, as Arvo sobbed louder and Kenny seemed to gasp "God-damn it Randy! Listen to me! We need...!"

"NO! MY WIFE AND MY SON ARE IN DANGER WITH YOU GUYS HERE!" Randy exploded he calmed himself slightly before he spoke again, "You know when I overheard this whole thing, I didn't want to believe it..." (he was cleverly keeping Patricia out of this, he didn't want them to know that she also knew about this. Because if something happened to him... then she would always expose them) "...but I had too. I thought we were friends. I thought we were a group!" he shouted looking at one face to another.

"C'mon, we can... make a deal between us! No one needs to know about this!" Christa begged. Yet Randy shook his head once again.

"No. The group need to know the truth! I didn't trek halfway around the country to join a group that's going to turn on each other! I just want a place and a group where my wife and son can be safe! and you people put that at risk!" he stressed. Vitali couldn't take another second of it. He turned his gun towards Randy, as Randy focused his aim, on the agitated Russian.

"I got a quicker trigger finger than you son. Trust me. I'll blow your fucking brains out if you don't put that thing down" Randy warned. Vitali however kept his grip steady, as the tension reached it's highest point in the room. Randy's finger was on the trigger... he was ready to press down.

"Now... I'm... going... to... go... and..." Randy muttered inching towards the door, Vitali remained locked into place, someone suddenly seemed to move, as Randy felt something in him snap. His finger pressed down on the trigger...

BANG!

The gunshot echoed across the room, Arvo screamed and held his hands over his ears. Randy looked ahead of him shocked. He had been aiming at Vitali.

He hadn't been paying attention to the others.

Randy's quick trigger finger never released a bullet. Someone had beaten him too it. Blood spurted from Randy's mouth, a clean bullet hole in his neck. The redhead retched and choked and tried to lift a fingers to his wound which was spouting far too much blood...

Randy's world blackened, his gun fell from his hands and crashed against the floor as he did. The man twitched for a few seconds, before he went still. The man who had travelled so far... he had been murdered.

Vitali was frozen. He seemed like the obvious culprit for murder, but he hadn't fired a single shot. He looked back at Natasha... she hadn't fired and neither had Christa (and Arvo obviously hadn't). Everyone looked back expecting to see Kenny with the smoking gun. Instead Kenny stood there limply, lowering his gun to the floor. He hadn't fired a single shot, he turned around in disbelief towards Sarita. Her pistol was smoking, she had pulled the trigger.

_"I made a promise"_ was all she said.


	12. Despicable Me

**A/N: Okay, thanks guys for the continued support and I'll get on with answering your reviews.**

**ffapathy- Okay, thank you for your advice and I loved reading your review, I especially liked the part where you mentioned Negan's walker guts on weapons methods. You'll just have to wait to see if Stef's infected or not and I really liked the points you made on Sarita. I imagine in that situation Kenny and Sarita lost their heads and lashed out, rather than argue logically and calmly. But I'll be sure these points this chapter! So thanks again for another great review!**

**Rebloxic- Yep, Sarita made a promise indeed, I'm trying to make her different to what she was in the game. Where she was basically a plot device to develop Kenny's character. **

**WalkingJess-A new reviewer... welcome. Anyway thanks for your review on the chapter and I'm glad you liked it and as for this chapter... well I read your review and laughed and then suddenly this new idea popped into my head that you'll see unfold this chapter.**

**Chameishida- Thanks for another great review and I hope to continue to entertain you and keep you at the edge of your seat/bed.**

**Transformers g1's- prime- I'm beginning to enjoy our little Q and A sessions, anyway (Zombieguy96 walks onto Questions of the dead to an audience cheer) you ask your question and my response...**

**Well Transformers g1's- prime the crisis with the walker cult still takes place in the same universe as Rick's group. So I can confirm his group is alive and down in DC. And since this story is on the 2/3 year mark into the apocalypse and the comic is mid 4th year into the apocalypse, this story occurs either just before or during the 2 year time skip in the comics. **

**Salient Spring- Thanks for recommending that fic to me, I checked out the first chapter and it seemed pretty good!**

**Eggomypeggo, Maximo and Lockdown- Thanks for your reviews, some quotes made in your reviews will apply to the characters as the story goes on.**

**and finally thanks to XXXWOLFLOVERXXX, ShadowCinder333, AquaDestinysEmbrace, leafs nation and A Writer With Mixed Interests for your reviews!**

* * *

"Oh fuck... fuck what have you done!?" Arvo screamed, inching away from Randy's prone body. The blood as crimson as his hair was extending in a thin trail towards the 18 year old Russian. Randy's glasses lay cracked on the floor, his gun lying discarded at his side. Arvo had to try and cover his mouth to stop himself from hyperventilating, they were so fucked...

"What the hell Sarita..." Christa gasped, turning towards the Indian woman, who lowered her gun slowly.

"It... It had to be done! He was going to tell on us! We have to get out of here! We have to! I can't allow my baby to die!" Sarita exclaimed, her calm façade shattering, as her lip trembled and the full weight of the crime she committed fell on her shoulders. Kenny turned around to his girlfriend as she let out her first sob.

"It's okay... it's okay Sarita. You did what you had to" he encouraged her softly, as she howled onto his shoulder.

"Their going to find out anyway Kenny! Someone will find his body here... someone will notice the meds are missing! I killed someone for nothing..." Sarita sobbed, as Kenny muttered calming words to her, as he gazed at Randy's dead body. He couldn't see any way out of this and neither could anyone else... he heard a gun click behind him and didn't even bother to reach for his own.

"VITALI NO!" Natasha screamed, the Russian man once again pointing his gun at Kenny.

"We... we can kill them! Say it was in self defence..." Vitali was rushing out in broken English, clearly panicked at the situation as his eyes flew towards the door every few seconds. As Natasha violently shook her head "How much more blood do we have to stain our hands with... just to keep our secrets... It's over, we're finished" she muttered sadly. Vitali finally lowered his gun, but the fire in the man's eyes didn't die as he growled "It's not over".

Several pairs of heads looked up. Vitali seemed to be using his brain for once, as he turned to Kenny slowly. "Fine, we agree to no more killing" he announced, as Arvo screamed a shrill "YES!" In agreement, the others also nodded. As Kenny raised his head to face Vitali.

"What have you got in mind?" He enquired.

"We can share the meds between us, we need some. You need some. If we can all agree to keep this murder here a secret, then we continue to share our meds. If anyone grasses to someone else about the murder or stealing of the meds... than I guess we'll argue until the group makes it's own mind up about who is innocent" Everyone was looking at Vitali as if the brash Russian had suddenly grown two heads, as this "deal" sounded like something that could have easily have pulled off.

"How can trust you not to tell anyone?" Kenny snarled in doubt. This "deal" relied on trust, and this was something Kenny lacked concerning the Russian group in general.

"How can we trust you?" Vitali responded, the two held each other's gaze for a minute, until Kenny finally sighed and muttered "Fine, I guess it's God-damn deal then" and with this he roughly shook Vitali's hand, before they broke apart and both them looked down at Randy's body.

"We can't hide this" Sarita whimpered.

"No, we can. Look" Christa pointed out, as she literally used her index finger to point at the red hole through Randy's neck, as the group looked on. Understanding dawning on their faces, as Natasha figured it out. "He has been shot in the neck. Not the head. He will come back as one of them" she murmured, sadness intermingled with hope her tone.

"Are you saying, we just leave him here too turn? and make it look like it wasn't a murder!?" Arvo whined, holding his head like a vice lock, as Christa nodded. "I don't like it either Arvo. It feels dirty and wrong... but... if you want to get on that truck. You've got to be willing to keep to this deal" she crouched on the floor as she made eye contact with the nervous teenager "Can you do that?" she asked of him. Arvo's adam apple bobbed up and down in his throat as he made large gulps and tried to control his breathing. Eventually he wiped his eyes and snot from his face, and breathed deep...

"Okay... okay I know I can do this" Arvo said, his voice somewhat shaky but he seemed to be holding it together for now. Christa smiled "Good" she mused as she stood up once again, Arvo also shakily got to his feet.

"Okay, let's get out of here before someone sees us" Kenny instructed of the group behind him as they sprinted off, back towards the hardware store. All of the meds were currently with stored in a backpack that Kenny had with him.

"People are going to question where the meds have gone" Vitali told him, as they rounded a shelf and quickly got back into the flow of things, trailing behind Eddie who was running to grab what he could for the group in general. The Russians, Christa, Kenny and Sarita slid back into the group undetected and no one seemed suspicious of them. In fact they were still panicking about everything else...

In response to Vitali's statement, Kenny turned back to him and muttered "I know, they'll look for the meds and they'll find them. Just not on us" Vitali's eyes widened a few centimetres, knowing full well what Kenny was saying.

"You planned to frame somebody for stealing the meds from the start, didn't you?" he demanded an answer, looking at Kenny's backpack. Knowing how easy he could have slipped those meds into somebody else's backpack. Kenny gave a sad sigh as he ran on.

"Like Sarita said. I have a family to protect. They always come first" there was determination in his tone that Vitali had to admire.

"Tell me, how much blood would you be willing to stain your hands with?" Vitali asked of him, as Kenny thought about it, he already had stained his hands with Larry's blood to save the group and his family. He didn't like the thought of framing somebody (and possibly resulting in their death or exile from the group) but as his hand locked with Sarita's single one as they ran on. He knew he'd do anything to protect his new family.

"Enough to ensure my family is safe" he uttered at last. Giving Sarita a small smile. She still felt awful about what she did. How would she face Patricia and Gill after this? Patricia was her friend and she had murdered her husband in cold blood...all to keep a secret... oh if only Randy hadn't overheard anything... yet Kenny's smile gave her enough strength to carry on running... to carry on acting as if everything was fine.

She had killed Randy to keep themselves safe. In a strange way, she wouldn't let his death be in vain.

* * *

"You're going to miss this place, aren't you?"

Luke whipped around, expecting to see Clementine. But Clementine's voice was higher pitched than the woman who had just spoke. Luke turned around to face Kelly of all people walking slowly into his office.

"We fought for so long for this place. Jane died for it. And for what?" Luke nearly spat, as he gazed out of his office and into the slowly crumbling hardware store that he had fought so hard to get... he had fought so far to keep it all running...

"It didn't even last a year" Luke whispered softly and sadly, collapsing back into Carver's chair. Probably for the last time, as he held his head back high and closed his eyes, wishing it was all just a dream and he could wake up next to Jane back into the pen again. Wishing he could have shot that woman... and then Jane would still be here. She would be comforting him as they prepared to leave and Luke knew he'd be determined to leave the store. Because if Jane was alive this would simply be a shelter to him.

But Howe's was more than that. It was his _home_. It reminded him of Jane every day, he put every fibre of his being to ensure things kept on running here. He had tried his hardest, gotten himself so stressed out... over what? To leave 10 to 11 months later? To have everyone question his every choice? To doubt him?

"You better get ready to leave, I... just need a minute" Luke said, stroking the wood on his desk. The happy memories he had here... the whole aura of this store. In less than an hour it would be all gone. Luke tried to savour every second he had with this store.

However Kelly had other ideas, rather than leave, she closed the door behind her. Hearing the door close, Luke looked up to find the Asian woman approaching him, she planted her legs on his desk.

"I feel sorry for you" she said softly, her black eyes finding Luke's brown one's as she leant into his face, Luke found himself pulling away from her kiss.

"Whoa! Kelly what the hell!?" He gasped, his face scrunched in confusion as a single tear rolled down from one of her eyes.

"C'mon Luke" she almost begged, pushing herself closer to him, as he seemingly tried to shrink into himself, before she continued "Vince is so focused on wanting to lead this place. He neglects me. He treats you horribly... I just want some comfort. We could all die out there. Don't you want to do it, one more time?" she seemed to be purring at him now... Luke found it harder to resist, he never exactly fancied Kelly, but she was quite pretty. and she was offering him the comfort he hadn't had in eleven months.

"I..." Luke tried to say but his mouth was dry, he couldn't think of a logical thing to say, as Kelly face's grew larger in his line of vision. He didn't back away when their lips met, but he did close his eyes as the image of Jane washed over his blackened vision. He could imagine it... just for one more time...

Luke took control after that, Kelly could only stare at the celling, as Luke trailed kisses up and down her neck. She didn't even react to the fact he was whispering Jane's name in between the kisses.

* * *

Lilly watched as the third and final truck went up in flames, the black smoke plume that rose into the evening sky was a concern for her. Seeing as it may have drawn cultists back towards the store. They may have been curious to what was going on... then again Lilly doubted it. She knew they would leave the store. She just knew it. The cultists weren't coming back until midnight and the group would never see them again. Or so she hoped.

She gazed out at the treeline. Gasping when she saw the first walker emerge from the treeline, followed by another one and another... her heart hammered against her chest. For a few seconds she thought the cult had actually returned, until the walkers slowly but surely started falling into the moat with splashes and sploshes that were a comfort to Lilly's ears.

"Thank God, their just regular walkers" she thought turning to go back inside. However the new hum of the walker's growls tugged on her ears as she turned to see that a full herd was emerging from the forest, her heart started to speed up again, the moat was so clogged with corpses that the new walkers were able to pull themselves out from the moat and head directly towards the store...

"FUCK!" Lilly roared, aiming her gun on the emerging walkers, as it all seemed to hit her at once.

The war-horns, the loudspeaker... the cult had made a lot of noise. They had made a lot of noise deliberately! They were silent and covered in walker skins to avoid detection from the walkers... whereas they had drawn every walker here! They knew a herd would come here! Their deal... it seemed to good to be true. The watchdogs suddenly springing to life and trying to kill Stephanie... it all made sense now!

The cult (although they didn't say it) wanted the group to leave.

It wasn't a deal the cult were offering the group.

It was a head start.

* * *

Wyatt frantically searched for wherever the hell Kelly could have been, Vince had given him one job and he didn't want to screw it up. Thoughts of an undead Kelly flashed through his mind... and he could almost envision Vince's raging face in front of him... Wyatt did not want to disappoint him, he owed a lot to Vince.

Clambering up the stairs (things he would forever hate) he decided to quickly check in Luke's office, he ran up to the door, sweat coating his skin as he knew time was running out. He slowly opened the door.

"Luke do you know if...?" he began to ask.

What he saw wasn't pleasant... it was... well Luke bent over Kelly. Who was laying over Luke's desk. Both of their trousers were lowered. Kelly was sobbing, tears pouring from her eyes, murmuring "stop it Luke... stop it... please..." as Luke simply carried on. Only staring to slow down when Kelly started to scream and try and smack at him.

"Kelly... what...?" he gasped confused. She had been silent up until recently, Kelly had heard Wyatt approaching and knew that was the moment she had to act. Act as if she were being raped.

Luke looked up. To Wyatt it was exactly what it looked like.

"Wyatt I...!" He began in alarm, but he didn't finish the sentence, Wyatt ran towards a startled Luke, using the butt of his gun to knock the southern man out cold. Luke tumbled to the floor, as Kelly scurried away from him and shakily tried to pull her trousers back on. Wyatt bent over and helped the sobbing woman.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked her warmly, as she nodded, wiping away a few tears.

"I just... I felt sorry for him. And then..." she gulped and tried to control herself, as Wyatt slowly patted her shoulders. "It's okay. Luke's lost it Kelly. I think after everyone hears about this... well... he won't be leader anymore" he concluded, as Kelly sobbed further on. As Wyatt ran to go fetch assistance, wondering how on earth to break it too Vince that his girlfriend had been raped by Luke. "At least I knocked the fucker out" he thought. Maybe that would make Vince proud.

Kelly simply lay on the floor. Still sobbing, not because of the "rape" that had absolutely nothing to do with it. She had framed Luke for rape, she had destroyed the last shred of creditability that a broken man had. He was now going to either be left behind or worse... and for what?

_"It's the final nail in the coffin Kelly! If he rapes, no one... and even his most loyal followers will turn against him. Then, I'll take over hon. I'll make the right decisions around here. I'll keep Luke with us don't worry, I don't want to kill the guy..." Vince was saying._

_"Yeah you won't... but someone else might! Jesus Vince... this is low! This is as low as you can physically go, framing for a guy for rape! All so you can destroy that man's creditability! So you can become top dog!?" Kelly screamed at him, her boyfriend was asking her to manipulate an already broken man for this... she felt like an object. _

_"IT'S THE ONLY WAY!" Vince exploded, this silenced Kelly, as Vince panted heavily before he continued in a much sadder tone "You think I like destroying that guy? You think I like antagonizing him!? Well guess what, I don't! I'm just willing to make the impossible decisions around here to ensure the group is safe! We should have left the store weeks back... Luke is going to get all of us killed! As well as himself, If I become leader...I can change that. I promise!" Vince begged of her, as Kelly closed her eyes and let the tears fall._

_"Please. We all have to make sacrifices for the group Kelly. This is your's. This is the only time I'll ask you to do something like this... I swear it will never happen again. I still love you so much you know? Please... for me. For all of us..." Vince begged of her, as Kelly finally wiped away her tears._

_"Okay" she found herself saying._

Well Vince had got his wish. Now she sat there feeling like shit, as Luke was dragged from the room (fully dressed) towards Vince below. He planned everything... even giving Wyatt the order to go find her... so he would come across the rape. Hence it would look more realistic, rather than a set up. Kelly loved Vince, but Kelly sometimes wondered if Vince loved power more.

Or if he generally cared about the whole group.

Unlike certain people, who were already splitting into their own little groups and "families".

* * *

Clementine wondered what the commotion was all about, she rushed towards the gathering crowd in front of the truck... seeing Luke lying prone in the centre of the group, as she could hear Vince ranting angrily...

"What's going on!?" she demanded trying to squeeze her way through the adults, as Bonnie and Mike seemingly pushed her away from the scene.

"Clem... this erm..." Bonnie began awkwardly, trying to shield Clementine's vision of where Luke lay on the floor, but Clementine managed to shout over them all.

"Let me see Luke! What's going on!?" she demanded, as the crowd of people around Luke turned to her small form. Vince stopped speaking, as he sighed and looked down at Clementine, he slowly made his way towards her. As Clementine positioned herself defensively against him, something in the air... it felt hostile.

"I'm leader now Clem" Vince said, his tone neutral.

"What?" Clementine responded, even though she had clearly heard him the first time, as her stomach seemed to drop.

"I'm leader now. You and Luke... aren't needed anymore" Vince told her, his eyes avoiding her form, as Clementine looked at the silent group around her, her heart seemed to be failing.

"What... why?" she asked of the all the adults around her.

"Luke... did a very bad thing Clem. It ain't your fault, but... we all agreed Vince should lead us from now on" Bonnie explained, as the others all nodded, Clementine could barely believe it. Luke doing something bad? Had he finally snapped? She needed to know more.

"What did he do!?" she shouted over at Vince, who slowly returned back towards the truck, not answering her question.

"TELL ME! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO TO HIM!?" She screamed.

No one acknowledged her, as they turned back towards Vince, her temper got the better of her, as she screamed and ran forward to kick a nearby leg...

Before an arm scooped her up from around the waist and hoisted her up into the air, she screamed and kicked and yelled for whoever it was to let go of her. Yet whoever had grabbed her kept a tight grip on her, before she was eventually put down on the ground next to Sarah, who was slowly bandaging up a wound on Stephanie's chest.

"You need to keep your head down! A lotta crazy shit is going down Clem!" Nick yelled, letting go of her, Clementine opened her mouth to protest, before Nick gave her a stinging smack across the face, Clementine was too stunned to speak. As she looked up at Nick, the fear in his eyes was contagious and he knew the smack was a drastic measure in order to get her to shut up.

Clem held his gaze, she didn't know whether it was pity or fear, that made Nick's eyes soften and for him to utter "I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry Clem".

"Yeah, you better be. But what's going on?" She demanded to know from this trio, as Stephanie decided to explain to her.

"The watchdogs, the watchdogs were cultists Clem. That's how they were watching us. One attacked me and I was lucky enough not to get my neck silt... either way I've still got this cut on my chest and only a simple bandage to be able to deal with it" Stephanie grimaced in pain, as Clementine felt inclined to ask Sarah "Is she going to be okay?".

"Yeah, it's pretty deep though. We just need to find the other meds, I could only find some bandages, but I should go check the main closet in a minute, but someone might have taken them to the truck already..." Sarah seemed to be thinking out loud, as Stephanie store at the floor, and Nick looked back at the group around the truck, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair (in a similar way to how Luke did when stressed out).

"I can't believe Luke would do something like that... it's just..." Nick trailed to a halt, he seemed to be speaking directly to Stephanie, who looked back at him sadly. An irritated Clementine snapped at them "What! What did Luke do!?"

Before she could answer, it happened.

Their was a shrill scream, Clementine turned in the nick of time to see a zombified Randy stumbling out of somewhere and bite a sobbing Patricia on the neck, who called out his name weakly, as her knees went slack and blood trailed down from her neck.

"HOLY SHIT! WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!?" Nick bellowed from next to Clementine, as the 11 year old froze in place. Barely able to believe that not one. But two of her friends were dead/dying right in front of her eyes... after everything she had been through... after everyone she had saved since her second chance...

This was the first step back.

Patricia fell to the floor, blood spurting everywhere from her neck, as the group around the truck turned in horrified shock. Vince... being the leader he was, gallantly stomped to the front of the group and placed a well aimed bullet through Randy's skull. The redhead fell to the floor for the final time, his wife being unfortunate enough to find him in the closet and was too shocked too react... but she knew who had done this. Even if she couldn't mutter any words any more... she couldn't let the Russians get away with this.

With her final thoughts she focused her strength, on lifting her arm, her one finger trained directly on where the Russian group stood, a few yards in front of her. She garbled something that sounded like "...ou..." to them, as they looked at her in alarm. But soon too much blood poured from her mouth and she fell into a peaceful black oblivion, her last thoughts on her husband and son...

She lay still on the tiled floor. Her finger, forever more trained at the Russians. Vince put a bullet in her brain to ensure she wouldn't come back. He looked from Patricia's corpse to the Russians who stood frozen in place.

"Why was she pointing at you?" he asked of them, his voice reeking of hostility.

"We... have no idea" Vitali lied, trying to sound generally confused for once, Patricia's last act had raised suspicions, but most people (like Clementine) who simply gazing at the two corpses of Randy and Patricia in shock. Barely able to believe that in seconds... two of the people they had known and grown on in months were dead. Leaving poor Gill as an orphan.

Sarah and Bonnie were among those crying... Clementine had to wonder where the hell Gill was... (and how someone would break this news to him) however Nick tired not to let the shock of the event, or the grief engulf him. He paid much more attention to Patirica's last act... her finger pointing at the Russians.

It wasn't an accident.

* * *

"Dammit!" Lilly cursed, reloading her rifle, as the walkers slowly but surely approached the hardware store. There was no stopping them, but for now there wasn't that many, so she could hold them off with her remaining ammo. She had destroyed every excess supply she could get her hands on... but the group still needed time to pack everything in the back of the truck.

"Where the hell are you Vince!?" Lilly demanded of thin air, he announced to the group a while back that he would be up on the roof, guarding it with others against any approaching walkers or returning cultists (he said this, after what happened with Stephanie) so where the hell was he? Lilly hoped he hadn't forgotten about it, or was _focusing on something else... _

A sudden scream made Lilly whip around, it was coming from the other end side of the car park, and Lilly could clearly see two walkers trying to crush the small form of... the kid! Gill!

Lilly sprinted towards the scene as fast as she could, aiming her rifle when she reached a close enough distance and firing two shots through the night air. Both of these shots went through the walkers skulls, staining Gill's clothes in blood, as the petrified 12 year old, slithered his way from out and under their corpses.

"Are you okay!?" Lilly asked, skidding up to a pale Gill, and taking the young boy by the shoulders, as he wiped blood from his eyes and nervously stuttered "y-yeah... I...I... was l-looking for m-my parents! I-i c-can't find them a-a-anywhere so I t-thought they'd be out here!" he was shaking all over, as Lilly used the sleeves of her jacket to try and wipe the blackish blood from Gill's clothes and skin, as the boy continued to shake.

"Fucking hell Vince, the kid could have been walker mush because of you" Lilly thought to herself, before she turned back towards Gill, "Don't come out here alone, Jesus Christ you scared me" she panted, as she reloaded her gun once again and went to usher Gill back into the hardware store, Gill however remained rooted in place and muttered "I think I scraped myself when those walkers made me trip up. Can you take a look at it? I think it's bleeding" Gill requested from Lilly, as the elder woman muttered a quick "fine" as Gill turned around.

"It's on my back" he told her, as she lifted his top to gaze at the wound... yes it was bleeding. A gash across his back... Lilly used her clean hand (one not covered the walker blood) to wipe away the blood from this wound, as Gill hissed in pain. Lilly wanted to see how badly the cut was... how deep it was etc...

What she didn't expect to find was a bite mark.

"Well, how is it?" Gill asked nervously, after Lilly stood staring at the thing for longer than was natural.

"Oh it's erm... it's fine, just needs a little plaster... that's all " Lilly responded, lowering his shirt once again. Gill seemed happy with this answer, as he went inside to find his parents. Lilly already felt the tears build at the corners of her eyes, seeing his happy little face and knowing he faced a horrible end already.

Gill was bitten.


	13. Alive Inside

**Eggomypeggo- Interesting suggestion about the group splitting up, maybe it will happen and maybe it won't... only time well tell...**

**Maximo- I have seen transformers and I get where your coming from with starscream.**

**Lockdown- If the last chapter made you tear up, you're going to hate this chapter.**

**Transformers g1's prime- Hmm... I generally like the TV show. (Not as much as the comic or game, but it's alright) my favourite moments being the finale of Season 2. Daryl in the first couple of seasons, I quite like Maggie, Carol and Glenn but there's bits I don't like about the show. Most of season 2 was dragged out for too long, Season 3 was... meh. Seasons 4 and 5 I really like however (along with Season 1) however there is one major thing I dislike about the show...**

**Characters- The characters mostly scrape through so many seasons untouched, (yes they are scarred mentally and all that) but it seems as if characters such as Daryl are invincible because they are fan favourites. Lee was a fan favourite but Telltale still killed him off and for me that's why the game will always be a cut above the TV show, because the game takes risks that work (well season 1 did. Season 2 had quite a bit of "badass Clem moments" and Kenny's whole return, just to satisfy what the fans wanted, rather than what was needed to tell a good story).**

**ffapathy- Thanks again for your opinions and I'm glad you're liking Lilly, at first I thought she would be a nightmare to write about (owing to her secluded nature and hostile attitude) but... her character is strong. Not in a "all hail Lilly!" way. She's like the unappreciated growing hero, (who still has issues) hence it's great to get into her mindset and use her as the surprising voice of logic and reason.**

**Rebloxic- Interesting opinion on Vince and I respect your opinion on killing off the whole family in one, as I can understand there was a lot more of them to explore. However the plot moves quite fast from point on and it was hard to keep every single character in check. So... somebody had to go and I try to make every death have some sort of meaning or impact. Never the less I liked your point on Vince, despite all the Vince-hate you can't deny the cares about the group (or so he thinks).**

**Chameishida- Thanks for another great review! A lot of people seem to share your thoughts on this chapter.**

**Walking Jess (also as Guest)- Thanks for your review! Don't worry reviews help me alter the story somewhat, but don't change who dies or major planned events. So no matter how much you beg, your favourite character may still end up dead (gives evil laugh) okay, I feel like Telltale now. Going mad with power like Vince... okay back to the point. I appreciate your reviews and I hope you can to enjoy the story! **

**and thanks to rest of you for reviewing!**

* * *

Gill never saw his parents corpses.

A guilt ridden Sarita had seen him coming into the main area of the hardware store, she quickly ran up to the 12 year old, everyone else will still frozen at Patricia's and Randy's sudden and gory demises to do anything. But Sarita had managed to gather whatever sort of sense she had left and managed to spare Gill this grisly site for a short while.

"Hey, have you seen my parents?" Gill asked her breathlessly. Sarita had to hold back the tears. She couldn't force herself to whimper... Gill sounded so innocent. And now because she had pulled the trigger on Randy, the boy's father was dead. She had also gotten Patricia indirectly killed, as the group left Randy to become a walker. But it all boiled down to her. She was the original culprit, she fired the shot that was tearing the group apart.

She felt even worse about herself, when she found out that she could lie to Gill and sound so emotionless about it.

"Yes, I'm sure they are up in the greenhouses somewhere" Sarita lied.

Gill bolted up the stairs towards the greenhouses before anyone could stop him. Sarita struggled to control herself, as she soon found a slow swarm of people encircling her, as Bonnie murmured "Mary, Mother of Jesus have mercy on that boy" as her eyes became reflective, Mike pulled an emotional Bonnie closer to his form. The others all looked on at the empty staircase that Gill had climbed with saddened expressions.

"How the hell are we going to tell Gill, both his parents are dead?" Rebecca asked openly, the question the group didn't want to hear.

"We don't. His bitten"

Several heads whipped around a blood drenched Lilly, as she emerged with her reddened fingers (the skin on them, irritated by how fast she had been pulling the trigger) her eyebrows were furrowed together in anger, as she directed her glare on a shocked looking Vince.

"Sorry... but what?" Kelly asked in disbelief, she wanted to know that she had heard Lilly wrong.

"His bitten. He got bitten on the back, he doesn't know it" Lilly told them all, raising her voice, so everyone could clearly hear her. Eddie swore under his breath when this news hit him. He certainly couldn't make a joke to lighten the mood now, as many heads bowed downwards in silent misery, other choked sobs echoed through the still air of the hardware store.

"But... he was inside... how..?" Vince spluttered.

"He was't inside Vince, he went out by the moat looking for his parents. I saw him get swarmed by some walkers and I thought I saved the kid... Or at least I think I did..." Lilly trailed off sadly, before her eyes hardened and she muttered angrily "This wouldn't have happened, if you'd been on guard on the roof Vince. Just like you promised!" she spat at him, as Vince seemed to pause as this realisation fell onto his shoulders, yet he managed a comeback.

"Look, I am so sorry about what happened to Gill. But we had a situation in here!" he yelled, as Lilly's eyes narrowed, "What situation?" she snapped, as Stephanie suddenly seemed to join in with the conversation, as she explained to Lilly...

"Lilly... I don't know how it happened but Randy turned. His walker just... stumbled out of nowhere and... Patricia was right there..." she pointed over at the spot where Patirica's and Randy's corpses lay, as Lilly's brown eyes flew open in shock, "... and... and... he took a chunk out of her neck. Vince put em down" the young woman finished explaining as her eyes found the floor, as she wiped away the growing tears in her eyes. This is why Stephanie wanted to leave, to avoid any more scenes like this.

"How the hell did Randy turn? What the actual hell is going on here!" Lilly shouted, her emotions a mess of confusion, grief, and anger. She looked around at the non-moving group, as she suddenly seemed to ask "Hang on, where's Luke? Isn't our leader meant to be involved in all this...?"

Again, it was down to Stephanie to explain what Luke had done and why he was lying, (by the truck) out cold. If Lilly was shocked at Gill's parents deaths, that was nothing compared to what her reaction was when she learned Luke had "raped" Kelly. Kelly's added crocodile tears certainly helped the story more "authentic", but Lilly knew something wasn't right. She could tell that the shifty looks some members of the group gave each other... something was off.

"So you just find her. Being raped, just like that?" Lilly asked of Wyatt. He nodded vigorously shooting daggers at Luke, who still lay passed out.

"Well..." Eddie began finally finding a time for a joke to lighten the situation, "this is what happens when you leave us for 5 minutes Lilly" he mused, his smile instantly dying on his face when no laughed at his joke. The mood was as sombre as ever.

"Dude, not now" Wyatt told him harshly, as Eddie shrunk into himself. Hating the whole miserable "vibe" and growing tension in the air.

"Well, what are we going to do with Gill? He can't come with us. He'll turn" Kenny spoke out at last, something in his jaw quivering as he spoke. Kenny could live through the death of Randy. But the oncoming death of a child... it was something he couldn't handle. It had been hard enough watching Lee kill Duck and then that boy in the attic. He knew Gill was going to die, but Kenny couldn't handle it, if he saw another little boy die. However Gill died, he didn't want to be there to see it.

"I'll deal with Gill"

Clementine had spoken, seemingly everyone in front of her jumped backwards from where she was eavesdropping into their conversation. She picked up on the fact Luke had "raped" Kelly and now she knew she had to be the one to deal with Gill.

"Clem... just... no! You can't do this! This isn't your fault!" Christa began, her eyes wide and her black strands of hair falling out of place, as her bony finger suddenly found the tense figure of Lilly. "It her's and Stef's and Luke's! They voted for us to stay! Don't feel guilty about all that Clem, it isn't your fault were in this situation now..." Christa was saying, as Lilly spoke up.

"Excuse me. But I don't think it would have made any difference when we went, the fact remains, the cult were always there!" Lilly argued, as Kenny (naturally) opposed her.

"How do we know that!? If we left earlier, we could be at Wellington right now! But thanks to you three, were stuck here! With two of our group already dead! and were debatin' on how to kill the third, whose just a little boy!" Kenny ranted, as Lilly's eyes narrowed to hate fuelled silts.

"WE COULD ALL BE DEAD ON THE GOD-DAMN ROAD BY NOW...!" She screamed.

"OH! LIKE THE FUCKING MOTOR INN! LIKE HOW YOU FUCKING LEFT CARLEY DEAD ON THE ROAD! LIKE DUCK GOT BITTEN! JUST LIKE GILL! IT'S THE SAME! IT'S THE SAME AND YOU MADE THE WRONG CHOICE! AND HAVE FUCKING DOOMED US AGAIN...!" Kenny was bellowing...

"You two need to get that stick, called the motor inn, out of your asses!" Rebecca snapped at them, as the quarrelling pair turned to mid aged mother, who held herself confidently despite the fury evident on Kenny and Lilly's faces.

"You know. It seems a bit odd that Lilly wonders off and then suddenly Gill is bitten. and his parents are dead." Judging by the broken English and malicious content behind the words. Many assumed Vitali had said it, yet Vitali was looking down at Arvo (quite surprised) as the cowardly Russian teenager, finally seemed to be doing his bit to ensure that they would not be discovered.

"His right. It does seem a bit odd" Christa added in agreement. A crescendo was building as the group turned against Lilly.

"Hang on, she was out there saving me! and getting rid of our supplies we didn't need...!" Stephanie shouted in Lilly's defence.

"You're as guilty as her for letting us stay! For all we know, you could be in league with her!" Kenny shouted, as Stephanie paled, she could metaphorically see how people's mind towards her changed, how their faces would flicker with traces of suspicion.

"Stef... where did you get that cut from?" Bonnie asked in mild curiosity, Stephanie didn't want to believe it, they weren't actually asking her. if she had...

"Did... Randy put up a struggle?" Sarita (of all people) asked, after Stephanie remained silent for too long. Sarita could barely believe she had uttered those words, that turned the group against Stephanie in a heartbeat and planted seeds of doubts in their minds that wouldn't be removed easily. Sarita knew she had started all of this, the chain of events had built up from her gunshot... but she couldn't stop. Not now. A numb form of sadness overcoming her form, the only things at the end of the sadness and darkness being the forms of Kenny holding her newborn child...

"NO! JESUS CHRIST WERE LOSING IT!" Stephanie screamed, wanting now (more than ever) to get away from this group. She knew she hadn't murdered Randy, but she knew someone else had. The storm had hit at last, the ship was half way sunk... fuck this group. The cult were bad, but so far they hadn't killed a single person (well they got close concerning her) but her friends... her allies, were killing people. She didn't want to stay and argue her case... she just wanted to run and start again...

"Maybe they are planning to run away together. Lilly and Stephanie, and take all of the meds with them. It would make sense" Vitali said.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me" Lilly snapped.

"Yeah. Watchdogs are cultists my ass! I bet their lying! I mean who else saw watchdogs stand up and start actin' like people!?" Kenny demanded of the group.

"I did! I had to shoot one of them!" Sarah announced dramatically as she seemingly burst onto the scene. The group in general were surprised, as Stephanie and Lilly were let off the hook slightly. Sarah was well liked by the group, and her word was usually trustworthy. Bonnie seemed to let her thoughts known as she muttered "Okay... maybe there were cultists..."

"Okay listen everyone!" Vince announced to the group in general, as all eyes found his form, "I don't know what the hell is going on around here, but we should all just get in the truck and get out of here! It's not safe, the cultists will be back in a couple of hours and we got walkers about to swarm the place. It's time to go...!" Vince was stating as Lilly shook her head. "Before we go..." she growled as all heads whipped around to her.

"We need to check where the bodies. Find out what injury killed Randy. and where he was injured, people don't just stumble out of nowhere... he was hurt _somewhere. _We follow the blood trail, we'll find out where he died and how, and I'll prove to you people I had absolutely nothing to do with it" Lilly finished flatly.

"There might not be time..." Natasha began nervously.

"No, Let her check em, maybe there is a snitch behind all our backs, we could learn a lot" Kenny said (knowing full well he was part of group that were the "snitches" but if he made out to the rest of the group that he opposed them, than they would appear less suspicious).

"God, I can't believe the kids had to hear all this shit" Mike told Bonnie, as she nodded in agreement before looking around, realising something...

"Hang on, where did Sarah and Clem go!?" she asked out loud, she received her answer from the shadows.

"I let both of them go. Their saying goodbye to Gill" Nick muttered, he stepped forward as if he had glided onto the scene.

"Nick... what the hell, do you know...?" Rebecca began to him (who overhead what she had said) yet Nick looked back at her with darkened eyes. His voice was flat and emotionless when he spoke.

"I paid attention to them, I care. Pity everyone didn't do the same for Gill"

He left Rebecca, Mike and Bonnie hanging. Rebecca knew that this wasn't the usual angry Nick she was used too. Sure enough Mike summarised it by uttering "What's up with him?" but not one of the trio could give a correct answer.

"Must be angry or shocked about Luke. and all this leaving and the arguments, must be getting to the poor boy's head" Rebecca suggested as an answer.

At least she hoped this was the right answer. And nothing else.

* * *

"Hey Gill" Clementine greeted him as she creaked open the door of the greenhouse, as Gill looked up from where he was bent over a small table, trying to look underneath the thing.

"Hey Clem, Sarita said my parents were up here" Gill said in frustration as he knocked down a pot and cursed under his breath. "But they aren't... where are they?" he asked of Clementine who managed to give a clear answer as Sarah slipped in behind the 11 year old.

"Their by the truck. There's walkers outside blocking the truck. So Vince ordered us up kids up here while they clear the way. and they'll come and get us when their ready to go" Clementine didn't know how she had lied so casually, yet she had managed to as Sarah stared at her confused, yet she supported Clementine's story with a shaky nod.

"Great. Stuck up here" Gill grunted, as he sat on the floor.

"Yeah, I'm going to take a nap, I'm tired" Clementine replied, lying herself down on the cold greenhouse floor.

"A nap!? Now!? You're crazy Clem" Gill said, (yet he laid next to her anyway).

"They might be a little while. So I thought why not? Besides they'll carry us anyway if were asleep" Clementine added as a plus point. A bewildered Gill could only go along with it, as he lay back... admittedly he felt rather drowsy...

"I hope they hurry up. That cult will be back in a few hours" Gill said, as he gazed up at the sky beyond the greenhouse glass.

"Yeah. They're going to be super quick!" Sarah added with enthusiasm, yet her voice was shaky, she knew Gill was bitten. She knew this was the end for him and she was struggling to control herself at the moment.

"Hey Clem, I almost forgot tomorrow's the first of October isn't it?" Gill asked of her, as Clementine nodded. Not really knowing where he was going with this...

"Remember it's your birthday Clem! Your 12th birthday you'll be the same age as me then" Gill told her, as Clementine felt something get caught in her throat, she had completely forgotten about her birthday (owing to whole cult thing) yet Gill had remembered it, as he smiled at her. Clementine managed to hold herself together, yet Sarah was struggling, as the childish 16 year old's lower lip was starting to wobble.

"Yeah... happy birthday for tomorrow Clem..." Sarah said, the enthusiasm in her voice had died completely.

"Thanks..." Clementine echoed back.

"Man, I'm kinda excited for tomorrow, you know Clem?" Gill told her, as she turned to face the black boy, as he continued to explain.

"I know we'll be leaving. But we'll be going somewhere new! I mean that seems pretty cool right? We're all going be there and group is damn big... so we'll get to Wellington just fine, and I'll have to give you the present that I packed in the truck earlier. But we can't open it until tomorrow, it's like the birthday rule..." Gill was saying, as Clementine silently stared at her friend.

"Yeah and you'll be with your parents tomorrow, they'll come and get you" Sarah added, she tried to sound cheery, but her voice was clearly broken.

"Yeah, they'll finally decide to appear" Gill said grumpily. Sarah couldn't control it any more, she burst into tears and fled from the greenhouse. Sobbing hysterically, as Gill wearily asked Clementine "For God's sake, what's wrong with her now?" Clementine shrugged and muttered "I dunno. Must just be sad about leaving". Gill seemed to accept her response as he carried on talking.

"I don't know what's she upset about. I'll be glad to leave this dump and go somewhere else".

Clementine found it very hard to control herself all of a sudden, as she quickly averted her eyes to sky.

"I mean, all the group does is bicker and argue and... hell. Back in Arizona me, mum and dad we were part of this large group. Same sort of shelter, but they were much worse people. They killed each other and all sorts... it was really messed up" Gill recounted his past to Clementine, who simply kept staring at the indigo sky, past the glass of the greenhouse.

"So, what did you do? Did your dad have to kill anyone?" Clementine asked, as Gill shook his head.

"No, he just grabbed me and mum and one day we just ran away. We just ran out of the place when no one was looking. We didn't want to become bad people, so really I guess running away was the best choice. I mean if we hadn't we wouldn't be here now. Not with your cool group Clem..."

Clementine felt a silent tear slide down her cheek.

"Thanks Gill. Well I'm going to sleep, it was nice... it was nice talking to you" Clementine said stuttering slightly, yet her voice sounded normal enough. Gill couldn't tell she was crying.

"Yeah, Night Clem"

Those three words were his last. Clementine lay there in silence, trying hard not to sob openly, or sniff. As she faced away from Gill, it only took five minutes until she heard him snore. The infection must have already been making him fatigued. Eventually (when she was certain he was asleep) she slowly stood up and looked back at him.

_"If I ever gotten bitten Clem, I'd want to turn into one of them" Gill told her, they were hanging out on the roof one day, a few weeks after Sarah's sweet 16th, as they watched Bonnie and Mike load the bodies from the moat into one of the trucks._

_"What, why? Bonnie and Mike would just burn you. It would be horrible" Clementine responded, her eyes on the deformed, rotting faces of the walkers. Like hell she'd ever want to become one of them._

_"Yeah, but you'd be dead anyway. And what if there's a cure one day? My walker would be the first one saved and I'd return to life!" Gill proudly announced. as Clementine rolled her eyes. _

_"Keep dreaming Gill"_ she said back then and then again in present to his sleeping form, the tears were now fully cascading their way down Clementine's cheeks. She had given Gill his last bizarre wish... to leave him to become a walker. Clementine knew he never wanted to be shot (he ranted about it more than enough to her) Clementine could only hope he'd turn peacefully... before the walkers themselves ripped him to shreds.

She found herself at the door to the greenhouse before she knew it. She stared at Gill for one last time, she should have shot him. Right now. To ensure he was at true peace. But Clementine looked at his form and knew he was at peace anyway. She couldn't go back now she could only mutter one more thing to him.

"Night Gill"

Before she closed the door of the greenhouse, leaving him to "sleep" forever more.

He would see his parents in the morning. They'd come and get him.

And he'd be going somewhere new.

* * *

Lilly had found the evidence, the bullet hole in Randy's neck "So someone did kill him!" she announced, as everyone gazed at each other in suspicion. The evidence was right before their very eyes. She traced the blobs of blood back towards the closet where the meds were stored. There was a mass puddle of blood on the floor and (if Lilly looked closely) bloodied footprints on the tiled floor.

"So he was shot in here. Looks like somebody took the meds for themselves then and shot Randy when he discovered that" Lilly concluded. The Russians, Christa, Kenny and Sarita looked at each other nervously. Everyone knew Lilly was right, even Vince leaned up against the wall and muttered "Well damn... that is some hard evidence right there. I wish we could solve this here but the walkers are nearly on us. We have to get in the truck" he told them, as Lilly agreed with him.

"Fine, but whoever's been stealing from us... we have to know" before she swept out of the room. Vince sighed and cursed under his breath. Being a leader was so stressful, he turned to Wyatt and Mike and told them "Get everyone at the back of the truck, Mike, you're driving with Bonnie. As for now help me get Luke into the back of the truck..."

"WHAT!?" Wyatt exploded, as Vince grimaced somewhat "Vince that dude's a rapist! His fucking nuts! You know we have to leave him here, it's best for everyone!" he stressed to Vince. Kelly was glaring at him now, as Christa muttered "I agree. Luke's not stable any more Vince. We have to think about the group as a whole here" Vince felt sweat coating his forehead... he didn't want Luke to die! It would seem his little "set up" had been blown out of proportion.

Or was he more scared about what Kelly would say, rather than Luke's life?

"Look, Luke's coming with us! Yes his done a horrible thing, but so have I! I murdered a guy in a cold blood before all this! If you can accept me, you can learn to accept him. You never know, he might work his way back into the group..." As Vince said these words Kelly's smile grew wider, the terrible thing she had done, maybe it wasn't so bad now. Maybe Vince could be a fair and just leader. Maybe they still had morales between them.

"... and if he doesn't work his way back into the group. If he slips up again. We can decide what to do with him" Vince finished, as Kelly's smile died on her face.

Yet this line was all that was needed to convince the others to heave Luke into the truck, (he was still out of it) but finally his eyes fluttered open. Wyatt was present as Luke wiped his forehead.

"What's...?" he began as Wyatt grunted at him and aimed his gun at the brown haired man.

"Stay still, you fucking rapist" Wyatt spat.

Luke sighed, he knew where he was. He knew the group had let him come along in the back of the truck. Yet he knew they doubted him now, there was nothing he could do to convince them otherwise. It wasn't rape... but he had been stupid enough to take the bait.

"Can I...?" Luke began.

"No, you can't" Wyatt cut through Luke's speech, the man looked around him. The back of the truck was still open, Howard's Hardware was still in front of him. Yet he had no questions to ask, knowing full well the group would just hiss hate at him if he spoke. Instead he leaned up against the silver wall of the truck, tucked his arms into his chest and wrapped his arms around his knees. Gazing at the floor silently, not saying a word. Not looking at the group behind him in this small space. Kelly watched him sadly... he was so broken he didn't even fight his own corner...

Sarah came down from the greenhouses, crying hysterically as Nick held her close. "She says Clem won't be long" Nick told a stern eyed Vince as he nodded. Nick took his seat on the floor of the truck, opposite to Luke.

"Hey, you alright?" Nick asked.

Luke pretended not to hear him.

Back in the store, Lilly tried to use every last bullet she could find to defend Howe's and give Clementine some extra time to deal with Gill. But she was taking so damn long...

"Their coming in! Fuck! Where's Clem!?" Lilly demanded of Vince, as he simply muttered "She'll be with us in a second. Don't worry" Lilly wasn't reassured but squeezed herself into the back of the truck regardless. As Vince waited for Clementine to show up. Maybe he should have gone and got her... the walkers were a mere minute away...

And then the small girl appeared, bounding down the staircase, through her tears she sadly swept some last glances at Howe's hardware.

Her's and Luke's office, the main area, the sickbay... even the old pen. Where everything had started. The store was striped bare and felt empty and dead, she was going to miss this place. She was going to miss this place a hell of a lot. She sniffed and remembered all the good times she had here. How long they had fought Carver for it... now she was truly leaving it all behind...

"Bye" she muttered weakly to the store as if it were a living thing, before she ran towards where Vince was waiting and the back of the truck was open... she planted herself next to Rebecca who muttered "Oh, baby girl..." as Clementine buried her head in Rebecca's shoulder.

"Did... did you sort it...?" Sarah dared to ask Clementine, her voice trembling.

"Yeah" Clementine sobbed in response. She had sorted it indeed. Gill was sleeping now.

Vince jumped in the back of the truck and roared "OKAY BONNIE, MIKE, WERE READY TO GO!" as Bonnie revved on the engine, the truck came to life, the back of the truck slowly lifted. As every remaining member of the group looked up sadly, as Howe's Hardware (their home for nearly a year) was slowly shrinking out of sight. Some sobs echoed around the truck, but no one spoke. The mood was sombre to say the least.

Clementine saw (just before the back of the truck closed) walkers begin to crowd into the store in their hundreds... it was truly gone now.

They were leaving for good.


	14. The Cracks and Clementine's

**A/N: Okay on we go, thanks for everyone's continued support! **

**Walking Jess- Glad you're loving the story and Lilly **

**Bubbles2k100- My story made you cry? I really am starting to feel like Telltale now...**

**leafsnation- A divide of characters you love and hate. Hmm... I was thinking about putting another character popularity poll up, but that would have to occur after a big scene I have planned.**

**AquaDestinysEmbrace- Thanks for your continued support and as for what will happen to Vince, only time will tell...**

**Chameishida- Glad you're still loving the story! **

**j2jackson321- Yep, poor Gill. **

**Clemmycakes17- Thanks! **

**Rebloxic- Thanks! I really like that you pointed out Sarita's change especially regarding the fact her and Patricia were joking a few chapters ago, and how a few chapters later she killed her husband, hence indirectly killing her. Goes to show how people can change.**

**ffapathy- Thanks for another great review! and it's interesting to know what you make on everyone (hating Sarita, but liking Sarah's evolution into a stronger character).**

**Maximo- Well, Vince has to do some good, and Eggomypeggo- I haven't watched that episode of transformers but I'll be sure to check it out when I get the time and thank you Lockdown and A Writer With Mixed Interests!**

**Transformers g1's prime- thanks for your review and as for your question... It would be a tie between Made to Suffer and Fear The Hunters, my reasoning being that Made to Suffer was the whole prison conflict between Rick's group and the Governor, Lori and Judith died which I wasn't expecting. The governor actually won that war (that made it more depressing, shocking) before he shot down by his own. That volume was explosive and a thrilling read.**

**Fear The Hunters is also up there because I liked seeing the group on the move (with Abraham, Rosita, Eugene and Gabriel) I loved the development the characters got, Dale's death was handled brilliantly and the hunters made for pretty good villains. I also like Negan as a character, but I feel the whole Alexandria Safe Zone story has been dragged on for a while now, but Kirkman impressed me with the new groups/problems/skin bandits after the time skip (Although I'm still not a fan of Carl, I like his development) anyway that's my answer.**

* * *

Nobody spoke, the darkness that encompassed the remaining 18 souls at the back of the truck seemed to stifling for anyone to mumble any words. Only deep breathing and the occasional sob were all that was heard from the 18 people crammed into the back of truck like ill placed sardines.

Bonnie and Mike kept their eyes on the road in front of them, making the total number of people still alive at a solid 20. They still had high numbers, yet Bonnie grieved terribly for the family of three that had been left behind. Left to die... left to be eaten by walkers. Randy, Patricia... Gill...

Mike managed to hold back any sort of emotions as each walker bounced of the windscreen caused the truck to shake horribly and for the strong African american man, to jolt up or down in his seat. Yet his knuckles were clenched so tight around the cool steering wheel he managed to drive through the flocks of walkers approaching the store and (using the very last rays of maroon sunshine) found the little ramp Stephanie had put down earlier that day. Accelerating forward, he put his foot down on the pedal as he felt himself fly forward violently when they crossed the shaky ramp...

"Oh... shit..." Mike mumbled, as the large truck managed to speed over the tiny ramp, the little thing had held which prevented them from falling into the moat had served them for the last time, and it had done it's job. As the last tyre screeched over the small thing it was official to them all... the store was gone for good.

Mike had no time to lament over this, through the trees lay the usual dirt-path he and Bonnie took the truck too, where they could burn the walker corpses. Now his eyes were locked on the poorly lit road ahead of him. Switching on the headlights did little to help, Mike could only accelerate a little faster, not liking driving with poor visibility through the rocky road through the pine forest. But the thought of the cult catching up... well... it only propelled him to go faster.

"It's gone" Bonnie sobbed sadly from next to Mike. Mike couldn't look at her, as his eyes were still locked on the road ahead of him. Yet he did manage a short reply.

"Yeah, well at least we don't have to burn walker corpses no more" He joked lightly as Bonnie let out the tiniest chuckle at his words. Even through everything they had been through today, she still had Mike. And she be dammed if she'd lose Mike. And not to walkers or the cult...

She kept her opinions to herself for a short while, sniffing against the windowpane of the truck and looking out into the darkening forest. She must have been staring at the never ending trees for longer than she expected, because when her eyes fluttered open she realised her freckled cheek was pressed against the glass. Alarmed, she lifted the aching half of her face and wiped the black bags from under her eyes. The engine was still running, as the tyres softly crunched over twigs and rocks on the dirt-path. Right now, the forest was completely black, as tiny white pin-drops of stars, were dotted above the truck as it moved on through the night.

She turned to see Mike was still awake, his eyes still peeled on the road yet they seemed to be tinged a shade of swollen red at the edges.

"You miss em too" Bonnie said, realising that barely anything had changed in time she had been asleep. Other than that Mike must have cried silently.

"It's just..." Mike began in a voice so soft, before his eyes hardened somewhat and he growled "Fuck! It's just... Gill. His was just a boy Bonnie! 12 Yeas old, I know kids die, I've seen it happen before... but I knew that kid. Remember how I'd used to prop up the little guy on my shoulders, and he'd help with the constructions sometimes... I didn't think he'd die. I thought Randy or Patricia would protect him, but they weren't there... it's just... I know it's stupid but all three of them! Dead like that! It's..." Mike stared at the ground momentarily as a few more tears fell from his eyes, Bonnie placed a pale hand on his shoulder and squeezed. All Mike needed was the comfort.

Mike quickly regained himself and looked ahead of him again, "I guess that's why I was alone at first Bonnie, I didn't want to get attached to people. But it happens and now I have you..." As he spoke, Bonnie offered him the best smile she could muster, "Look here. I know you're worried. But I promise you. I have you to live for, this whole apocalypse... I was just a helpless junkie before all this, now I have so much to live for" she mused, but Mike merely shook his head.

"It's not walkers I'm worried about Bonnie. Or even that damn cult, yeah they scare me... but if you died because of them. I'd be sad, but I'd accept it. Because it's in their nature.I watched my parents get eaten by walkers, my girlfriend... even my brother! But I lived through that, because I could accept it! What I can't accept is the fact a little boy died because Vince wasn't doing his damn job! Or the fact that Randy was murdered in cold blood!" Bonnie nodded as she processed this, it was true. The evidence that Lilly had found was too overwhelming, Randy had been murdered in cold blood leading to Patricia's untimely end. Bonnie looked at the silver panels behind her... the group couldn't see or hear them from here... they were safe to say what they wanted.

"It makes me sick Bonnie. I'm already fucking restraining myself around Vince, but he didn't directly murder Gill, whoever shot Randy did. It just makes you feel as if..." he eyes wondered to the stars above for a few seconds, before they came crashing back down to the path ahead of him "as if...all your efforts to pull a group together were for nothing! It's like all because of one person... the group goes to shit! It really fucking pisses me off...!" Mike was ranting now, as Bonnie stared at him concerned somewhat. After a few more minutes of silence, Bonnie had to speak up.

"I know who stole the meds" she uttered tonelessly. Mike didn't even react.

"I bet you did. Keeping it all too yourself, because I'm too reckless to know" Mike snapped at her. Ripples of anger crossing his face.

"Hey! I didn't keep it too myself for that reason...!" Bonnie yelled back.

"YEAH! YOU'RE JUST AFRAID I'LL LOSE IT! LIKE LUKE RIGHT!? I'M NOT MAD LIKE LUKE, BONNIE! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY...!?" Mike was screaming as Bonnie managed to get her voice heard above his...

"I WAS SCARED MIKE! I WAS SCARED OF WHAT LUKE OR VINCE OR ANYONE WOULD DO IF I SAID ANYTHING! THREE PEOPLE ARE DEAD! ONE OF THEM MURDERED IN COLD BLOOD! THAT COULD BE ME OR YOU NEXT MIKE...!"

Mike merely scoffed at her reply, before he piped up again "WE HAVE TO ACT BONNIE! WE CAN'T KEEP THIS SILENT SHIT UP WHEN YOU KNOW THINGS! YOUR HUNCH IS USUALLY RIGHT! WHY NOT USE IT!? ARE YOU JUST GOING TO STAND BY AND LET MORE PEOPLE DIE!? MAYBE YOU'RE HOPING I'LL DIE SO YOU CAN RUN BACK TO LITTLE LUKE...!"

"MIKE!" Bonnie exploded, but Mike didn't stop.

"I'VE SEEN HOW YOU LOOK AT HIM BONNIE! YOU STILL FEEL SOMETHING FOR HIM! I KNOW YOU DO! DON'T FUCKING LIE TO ME...!" Mike bellowed, as Bonnie's eyes softened, as Mike seemed to see right through her.

"Why didn't you say anything then Mike? If that's your problem, why didn't you say anything?" Bonnie pleaded of him, Mike's look of anger instantly died on his face, he looked lost, before he muttered in a small, lost voice...

"I was scared. Scared of what Luke would do. I was scared of saying anything Bonnie! Were both fucking scared aren't we!?" Mike wailed, as he sniffed back the tears that hung on the edge of his eyelids, Bonnie sighed and ran a hand through her thinning red hair, (with a sad reminder with that Randy gone, she was probably the last ginger alive).

"We need to do something. You're right Mike we can't just sit here and not act, when a cold blooded murder might hurt Clem, AJ or Sarah... I don't know what we'll do, but It can't be murder. We can't stoop to that... the group's already fracturin' as it is..." Bonnie murmured, looking back at the silver panels behind her.

"Whoever is killing, clearly ain't thinkin' of the group at all" Mike grunted.

"No, Natasha and the Russians ain't" Bonnie said, naming the culprits as Mike's eyes widened, as she began to explain every scrap of evidence she could, from the little slip up Arvo had made back in the other truck. Her close observation of Natasha... the fact the Russians weren't anywhere to be seen during the initial chaos that the cult had caused...

Yet as Bonnie spoke, there was one thing that was left unsaid. That being her thoughts on Luke... Mike knew Luke was mad. A rapist and somebody who had lost their way. Bonnie did too, he was too far gone. He had done a horrific thing to Kelly.

Yet Mike was right... somewhere... deep down she still felt something for the young southern man. She believed behind the broken monster, there was a shred of humanity left. He could be saved... it was blind hope but it was something.

Yet Luke's descent into someone with bucket- loads of humanity, to now merely having a shred was something that scared Bonnie more than the Russians or the cult ever could.

* * *

Clementine couldn't wait for much longer.

It was close to midnight, or it had to be near enough, her birthday was very shortly approaching. No one in the back of the truck had spoken in hours. She had spent the hours hugging her knees and trying to sleep (managing a few good hours) as she woke up. An overheard light had turned on shortly after they left Howe's for good.

She awoke next to Luke (the man was completely coiled into himself) Clementine had been given the whole birds and the bee's chat by Nick of all people. The result was humorous with Sarah asking the awkward questions, and Gill was there with Randy and Patricia right behind a clueless Nick as he described "sex" to the children...

Yet even looking back on this happy and funny memory was now stained with sadness. Considering it happened in the greenhouse, right where Gill had lain down to sleep and Randy and Patricia were bled out and white... not living, functioning parents... who would gather the group in a huddle and explain for hours on end their journey from Arizona to Howe's itself...

The family of three. Dead and Gone. Leaving a hole in Clementine's heart, The trio hadn't fought for the store but in strange way Clementine felt sad about them dying, because it was truly a step back. Randy, Gill and Patricia were the last to arrive but the first to leave. So who was next? Kenny? Christa? The Russians? Rebecca? Nick? Sarah? Would they all be bled out and white in the mere days and weeks to come?

Her whole miracle second chance had been revolved around taking over (and sustaining) the hardware store. Now that was over, what was there to do now? To fly in the dark with no future knowledge at all to guide her, her mind was jammed. She had given the group an almost a year extra of a lifespan... she was still alive to see her 12th birthday. But no doubt stupid mistakes would be made that she couldn't go back and prevent... besides views had changed.

She glared at Vince as she passed his sleeping form, the Asian man having taken her position of leader without so much as a word of opposition. She couldn't be cunning and clever as she had with Carver. That novelty was over, she was a 12 year old girl being led by the adults now. She wasn't a fierce, badass leader. She was a helpless little girl, her leadership was gone, Luke was disgraced (Clementine was able to grasp what "rape" was, it being sex without wanting to have sex, as Rebecca had told the kids sombrely one day back at the hardware store, which now seemed a lifetime ago).

Despite knowing he had done a terrible thing, Clementine vowed (in her head) to stick by the man she had grown so close too. No one would replace Lee, but Luke was coming close. She couldn't bear to watch him be shot down again... his motivation kept her going. She couldn't lose Luke like she lost Omid and Lee. Both older male figures that were shot down. Because of her stupidity, Luke was the third man on that list... then her second chance came around and she saved him.

She suddenly realised, she did have a goal. Protect Luke. Even when no one else would. Protect Luke. Protect Nick. Protect Sarah and AJ, along with Kenny, Lilly, Sarita, Christa, Bonnie, Vince (even if she was annoyed with him) the group in general. Clementine would try her damn hardest to do what she could to protect her group.

She reached the container and peered inside of it, she knew Gill would hide it in here. She knew it. (He always did hide things in this wooden container in particular) Clementine scooped up his small gift (wrapped up in thin coloured layers of plastic) and sat back down next to Luke. (Carefully stepping over legs and arms as she did so) Wyatt watched her closely as she sat down again.

"I wouldn't keep sitting by him, if I were you Clem" Wyatt told her.

"I want too. I know what he did was a bad thing. But we've all done bad things" Clementine spoke back to him, as the blonde man simply stared back at her through his glasses. Clementine gulped and turned back down to her gift, wondering if Wyatt still found her impressionable or just some little girl he could boss around.

"What you got there?" Wyatt asked in curiosity, staring at the coloured pieces of paper in Clementine's hands.

"It's my birthday today. Gill prepared me a gift" Clementine muttered sadly, Wyatt's face fell as he looked from the present back towards Clementine.

"Fuck..." he muttered, prolonging his curse, before he regained himself and muttered "I gotta go talk to Vince, I'll leave you to open his present Clem"

Clementine thanked him as Wyatt walked over to where Vince lay next to Kelly. As he did so Clementine slowly unfurled the layers of paper to find her present inside and next to it...a small piece of paper, with Gill's scrawly handwriting over it. With shaky hands Clementine lifted the birthday card to her eye level and read...

_Happy 12th Birthday Clem! _

_This is my present, you better enjoy it because I spent ages sneaking it from under Nick's nose (all the stuff in the greenhouse and they have just what I need) anyway I thought since I call you Clem. You'd grow into an actual Clem-entine one day, get it! So you'll need to eat this to actually become a Clementine (don't worry you're already on your way to becoming a fat orange ball) _

_So, missus fat orange ball (with a cool hat) enjoy my gift! _

_Your friend Gill! _

Clementine lifted a small orange from next to the birthday card.

Gill had given her a Clementine orange.

Clementine spent the next twenty minutes weeping to herself, clutching Gill's last letter and his last gift close to her chest. She didn't think anyone could hear her cry as she muffled her sniffs and sobs, but apparently when Luke's arm pulled her closer to him, as she buried her face on the side of his torso. She realised that Luke was always there to watch out for her. So despite the glare that Wyatt gave Luke upon embracing Clementine, he didn't back away from her.

* * *

"Alvin's finally asleep" Rebecca told a nearby Sarita. The Indian woman looked up from where she was gazing at the ground, Kenny was snoring from next to her and his bearded chin lay on her shoulder. She turned to address Rebecca who had clearly spoken to her.

"Well... at least you know how to raise a child in this mess. You are doing an amazing job Rebecca" Sarita complimented her, as Rebecca merely sighed.

"Don't feel like it. It just feels like I'm dragging myself through each day and nothing gets better, it just gets worse" Rebecca said as she cradled her growing son to her lap, (she noticed Christa in the corner of her eye gazing at Alvin as well).

"Well at least you must be doing something right. Considering Alvin's alive and well" Sarita told her.

"Yeah. But I've just got the feeling that... that things are only going to get worse. Now were out here in the open... let's hope for your sake and Kenny's that Wellington isn't overrun, or some pipe dream, because giving birth in a world like this... damn. It's tough Sarita I'm not going to lie and now Patricia's gone we don't even have a hairdresser, my curls are gonna be hell in a day or two..." Rebecca tried to joke to lighten the mood, but it didn't seem to be working on a still shaken Sarita.

There was silence between the two woman for a while, before Sarita managed to ask one question.

"Rebecca how far would you go too protect Alvin?"

Rebecca looked down at her son, back to Sarita and quickly stole a glance at Christa before giving her answer.

"I love my little boy more than words can say Sarita. I already had to help to kill his father, I killed old friends I knew at the community to protect my boy. I know if it came down to it. I'd do it again" Rebecca muttered darkly as Sarita never actually considered this, did she have it in her to do what Rebecca had done? What if Carver was Kenny? What if Kenny went insane... would Sarita kill him to protect her child? Rebecca had to face that option at one point and she decided too protect her son.

Sarita questioned if she was strong enough to stop the killing spree she had started to protect her child.

She excused it as motherly love, but her answer had to be a damming "No".

* * *

Nick watched Sarah sleep peacefully on his knee, he looked over the truck to see Luke embracing Clementine who was huddled into herself. She hoped that Clementine could knock some sense into Luke. He was honestly (emotionally and physically) exhausted and couldn't muster the energy to comfort or confront Luke after what he had learned. He knew Luke. He knew Luke far too well and he was the nicest guy Nick had ever known, dragging a useless heap like himself through the mud so he could have a friend. He still remembered the first time they had met.

_He was 6, it was at the local sports day (he wasn't as athletic as the other boys) so he ended up losing the race in a very humiliating last place (out of 12) his mother and Uncle Pete still cheered him on, so through his misery and anger, he kept his head down and everything seemed like it was in control. That was until Nick's very own father had shown up on the small field at the back of their school, to learn his son had disgraced him by finishing last in a kids race._

_Uncle Pete and his mother hadn't gotten there in time. By the time his drunken father (causing a massive scene he was) had gotten to Nick. He had yelled some very hurtful and absurd things to his frightened six year old son, ending with him chucking him into a small mud pit and kicking him. The other boy's had laughed at him... teachers were yelling, Nick was crying... it was awful. He was dragged (still muddy, bruised and humiliated) and left in a chair outside an office. His mother and Uncle Pete screamed the most hellish things at Nick's father (he didn't seem bothered by it all)._

_Nick himself just remembered feeling very sad about himself, so much so. He snuck back out onto the sports field (it was still full, so he hid himself in the corner of the field) and proceeded to let himself full back into the mud. Feeling like a pig, feeling useless as he splashed mud into his eyes and mouth quoting his father as he croaked things out like "I'm piece of a dirt" or "I belong here". He was crying, he was miserable and he was cold. And then it starting raining and everyone went inside, no one noticed him. Nick liked it that way, now his was cold. With any luck he hoped it would just get worse._

_Everyone left, no one noticed and no one cared about the useless liability in the mud. Expect for Luke. Even at 6 Luke was the only one who actually went up to a troubled Nick. The only one who cared... _

"So, what were you thinking Nick?"

Nick jumped and was brought back to present, his flashback ending as he blinked and noted how an icy cold tone had cut through the warmth of the first meeting between himself and Luke. He turned to find the fittingly icy eyes of Stephanie near to his own.

"What was I thinking?" Nick echoed, still trying to get back into present.

"Yes Nick" Stephanie snapped, as Nick massaged his forehead "What the hell were you thinking? Telling everyone I was running away?"

Nick groaned, as he gave his annoyed growl of an answer "I only told Lilly, calm the hell down Stef, besides running away's stupid as fuck anyway" He told her, Stephanie went from angry to furious as she spluttered out the next words in a seething rage.

"Really? The way the group is now. You think it's stupid? They don't need a fuck up like me around..." She muttered.

"They do. Leaving's selfish Stef, you're only doing it too protect yourself, more than you're doing it too protect others" Nick told her matter of factly, yet this seemed to piss Stephanie off even more.

"Nick, the whole group blames me and Lilly for the cult thing. If I don't end up doing something stupid! I'll probably get shot anyway and..." she looked around her nervously, ensuring that no one was listening in on their conversation "I like to be alone. Just let me go Nick and don't make a scene..." she begged of him.

"No. You're staying and seeing this through. You think being alone is the best thing, I used too think it too... but it really isn't" Nick said thinking back to his first meeting with Luke. How he had helped too protect Sarah.

"Will you fucking listen to me...!" Stephanie growled, her voice rising considerably.

"You're not fucking listening to me, so why should I listen to you!?" Nick shouted, as a few heads shot up in interest at this brewing argument.

"STOP ACTING LIKE YOU KNOW WHAT'S BEST FOR ME NICK! YOU DON'T! WE HAVE FUCKING NOTHING IN COMMON ALRIGHT!?" Stephanie suddenly screamed, making many people jump.

"WE DO HAVE A LOT OF COMMON! WE GOT ON BECAUSE OF THAT! ARE YOU THAT FUCKING STUPID, NOT TO REALISE THAT! IF WE DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING IN COMMON! WHY ARE YOU TALKING TO ME!? WHY AREN'T YOU TALKING TO SOMEONE ELSE!?" Nick demanded of her, as she merely huffed.

"Guys" Vince tried to interject helplessly.

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE NICE NICK! BUT YOU'RE ACTING LIKE A KNOW-IT-ALL ASSHOLE! STOP TELLING ME WHAT TO DO! AND LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!" Stephanie roared.

"I...!" Nick began to shout.

"WILL THE PAIR OF YOU PUT A FUCKING CAP ON IT!?" Lilly roared over to the pair of them, silencing them much quicker and more effectively than Vince's futile attempt, as she did so Vince noticed her empty a nearby bag-pack onto the floor it's contents spilling everywhere.

"Whoa! Whoa! What are you doing!?" Vince yelled at her.

"Trying to find out who stole the meds! They should be in one of those bags!" Lilly replied, as food and bullets rolled across the vibrating floor of the truck.

"I didn't give you permission to do that" Vince growled.

Lilly ignored him. She reached for another bag.

"Hey! Vince told you not to do that! and you won't find any...!" Kelly began, her words dying on her tongue when a waterfall of bright white meds poured from the backpack she had in her hands. No one spoke, they only looked on in shock, Sarah awoke and marvelled at the site of the stolen meds being discovered. The Russians peered ahead of themselves nervously, wondering who Kenny had framed for this.

Lilly clutched the bag as silence overtook the truck. Only the revving of the engine could be heard.

"Whose-bag-is-this?" she growled.

No one spoke, as Vince suddenly sprang up next to her.

"Speak up now. We need to sort this" he tried to say in calmer tone, yet his eyes were just as dark as Lilly's. No one answered, the tension reached breaking point when Eddie (of all people) finally muttered what everyone else knew.

"Dude, that's your bag" He said openly to Vitali.

Vitali paled and looked ahead of him, Kenny's face betrayed no emotion but that didn't matter, because Kenny had tricked them into this deal. He had betrayed them, Vitali felt an uncontrollable anger fly through his body as he lunged at Kenny, managing to land a few fresh punches on his face.

"BASTARD! YOU MOTHER-FUCKING AMERICAN BASTARD! FUCKING TRAITOR!" Vitali was roaring, as many tried to pry the pair apart. Sarita screamed and dived into the corner of the truck, AJ woke up and began to wail and cry, the whole situation turned chaotic in a mere few seconds... Lilly was banging on the panels ahead of her.

"STOP THE TRUCK! STOP THE TRUCK! THERE'S A FUCKING SITUATION BACK HERE!"

Bonnie and Mike heard the madness, (somewhat muffled) but could still hear Lilly's voice as they slowly brought the truck to a halt, as it did Arvo began to scream and cry openly, as Vitali screamed louder...

"THEY BETRAYED YOU TOO! KENNY AND HIS BITCH! HIS BITCH SHOT RANDY! HIS BITCH SHOT RANDY! WE HAD A DEAL...!" He was yelling as he was dragged out of the truck by Eddie, Wyatt and Vince. Natasha, Christa and a crying Arvo trailed after him, everyone else in the truck turned towards Sarita and Kenny.

"Their lying" Kenny spat on instantly, wiping some blood from his mouth.

Instead of finding reassurance, he found Lilly's gun in his face, as she said coldly her oldest rival "Get outside..."

"What, you can't be serious?" Kenny tried to say, yet Lilly didn't flinch in the slightest.

"Outside. Both of you." Lilly growled, as Sarita felt like her heart was going to explode from out of her chest.

"WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" She yelled in desperation, only confirming her guilt. She looked up to find Rebecca looking down at her, Rebecca looked disgusted with her "friend".

"We didn't... Clem!" Kenny yelled, his eyes finding her's as Clementine looked down at Kenny in shock "Clem I didn't do this! You know me! You know I wouldn't!" He begged of her, Clementine didn't know what to say, her mind couldn't process this news. Was this true? Lilly seemed to think it was. In her silence, Kenny and Sarita were led outside of the truck.

Clementine dashed out after them. This was going to be ugly.

Last time this had happened. Carley died, Clementine's hopes were not very high, as she leapt out onto the dirt track.

So much for saving the whole group. She was powerless.


	15. Shoot The Right One's

**A/N: Glad you guys are liking these chapters! and I'll get on with answering your reviews (as I always do) **

**Yomi Ryoken- Thanks for your review and I'm glad you pointed out the part about Kelly having marks on her if she was raped, so I'll be sure to address that sometime in this chapter!**

**ffapathy- Thank you for another great review and I'm continuing to love your insights and observations into each character. I liked your last point on Sarita in particular. **

**Chameishida- Thanks! I like the fact that these recent chapters seemed to be the best of the story so far, It's getting harder to top each chapter with the next one, so I try to play on my strengths (character development being one of them) so I'm glad this story is entertaining you and I hope it continues to do so!**

**Eggomypeggo, Maximo and Lockdown- Okay, thanks for your reviews and you can expect deaths to come, but I won't slaughter the characters pointlessly.**

**Transformers g1's-prime- Okay straight to your questions. **

**The characters that should live beyond their lifespans- (Andrea, T-Dog, Lori, Merle) reasons being they were big characters who could have interesting plotlines that could explored further (T-Dog especially, as he did nothing but merely exist) and as for the game, the answer would be obvious for that if you're mixing season 1 and 2 characters they would be (Lee, Carley, Larry, Chuck, Omid, Luke, Nick, Sarah, Rebecca, Sarita, Shel, Wyatt, Stephanie, Eddie, etc...) and as for which characters should die I would put (show-wise Dale, Patricia, Sophia and as for the game Kajtaa, Duck, Jane, Mike, Doug, Mark...) PM me if you want reasoning for this (as I'll give a longer explanation there) **

**Shane and Lilly? An interesting couple and one I could defiantly see working. I could imagine they'd bicker and argue a lot at first before finally falling in love (as their both hot-headed characters) and like you said they have a lot in common that they could discuss. For your third question keep Comic book Andrea she is so much more badass and likeable than tv show Andrea. Same with the governor and Lori... Lori can still be everyone's most hated character. But then again she'd be the one causing plotlines, rifts etc... so it would be good to keep her around.**

**and as for your final question, yes it's a very good idea (discuss it more with me through a PM however). Anyway thanks for your reviews and questions! **

**Emily Carver- I loved your review! and I loved that there is still some Kenny love out there (I liked him as a character as well, I just didn't like how the writers handled him in season 2) I'll try to make Kenny a little bit more redeemable in this chapter, as (like you and Clementine said) everyone does bad things, Season 1 revolved around redemption and Lee found it, creating an amazing storyline. Anyone can do wrong, but they can also make up for it.**

**and thanks to the rest of you for your kind words, for now enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"YOU FUCKING TRAITOR! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!" Vitali was screaming to a bloodied Kenny as they were lead into the cold night. Clementine shuddered at the low temperature, her woolly black t-shirt and crumpled grey jeans doing nothing to help warm her, as she massaged her arms (feeling the lumps of her old scar on her right arm) as she looked up at the worsening situation in front of her.

"Whoa, what the fuck is going on!?" Mike yelled running up to where it took Vince, Eddie and Wyatt's combined force to hold a raging Vitali back, Bonnie trailed the strong man's shadow as the ran onto the scene. Clementine quickly inspected the area around her... they were on a sloped dirt path and around her lay the ever present pine trees of the north Carolinian pine forest. Her eyes made out the massive looming forms of three snow capped mountains ahead of her, they were on the slopes of these mountains and no doubt heading north to Michigan to get to Wellington.

The temperature had fallen drastically, her breath came out in fog in front of her, as a quick glance around the trees around her told her they were safe for now. There can't have been any of the cult tailing them, as they would have revealed themselves by now. Or would they? Clementine stepped closer to the secure form of the truck and away from the threatening shadows of the forest. Who knew what was in there?

"WE DIDN'T DO SHIT!" Kenny's bellow brought Clementine back down to earth, the surroundings seemed safe so far. But there was a more pressing matter at hand.

"WE AGREED TO SPILT THE MEDS! AS LONG AS WE KEPT SARITA'S MURDER OF RANDY QUIET!" Natasha yelled, as Arvo became reduced to a grovelling mess from next to her. His grey eyes finding Sarah's as he muttered longingly at her "Please... Sarah... please tell them..." as Sarah could only look on. Her chest rising and falling more rapidly as she struggled to contain her growing panic and confusion.

"I... I don't..." Sarah began to stutter back to him, before Lilly spoke up.

"Hang on, we need evidence here! We can't go around tossing blame at each other!"

"WE DON'T NEED EVIDENCE, THE MEDS WERE FOUND IN VITALI'S FUCKING BAG!" Kenny roared, as Vitali lunged at the hot headed bearded man once again. Luckily for Kenny, Vince, Wyatt and Eddie managed to hold him back.

"THEIR TRYING TO FRAME US TO BE THE FUCKING BAD GUYS! WE AREN'T THE BAD GUYS! HIM AND SARITA MURDERED RANDY IN COLD BLOOD! THEY WANT TO KEEP THE MEDS FOR THEMSELVES...!" Vitali was ranting and spiting all over the place, as Arvo cowered behind a stern Christa who simply growled back "When I first met you again Kenny I couldn't believe you were alive. Now I can't believe how low you've sunk..."

"HOW LOW I'VE SUNK!? THAT'S REAL RICH COMING FROM YOU! STEALING FROM YOUR OLD FRIENDS! STEALING FROM A LITTLE GIRL YOU WERE WITH FOR MONTHS ON MOTHERFUCKING END! YOU'RE AS BAD AS THE RUSKIE'S...!" Kenny roared at Christa, whose face went from stern to furious in the space of a nanosecond.

"I'D MUCH RATHER STICK BY THESE GUYS THAN YOU! YOU HAVEN'T DONE A SINGLE GOOD THING FOR ME KENNY! AND NEITHER HAS CLEMENTINE! SHE GOT OMID KILLED!" Christa abruptly finished her outburst, just as quickly as she had flared up. Realising how she had vented her true feelings, feelings she had been holding back from Clementine for the sixteen months they had been travelling together after Omid's death. She instantly felt her stomach turn to lead and gulped down a lump in her throat as she turned back to truck, where a shocked Clementine was leaning against the rusty metal.

"Oh fuck. Clem I didn't..." Christa began to apologise, as Clementine could only look up at her guardian in shock. She knew Christa blamed her for Omid's death, she knew it all along. But hearing it announced like this... hearing it spat out by Christa with so much malice. It made her feel like a miserable, naive and stupid 8 year old once again. Not the brave 11 year old who had taken over Howe's. Howe's was gone now, on her 12th birthday she was once again becoming "the little girl". She felt useless and hurt and used the back of the truck to support herself as her world began to spin...

"Save it" Rebecca snapped at Christa, cutting her apology short, as Christa stared at the chipped brown rocks below her. Feeling ashamed of herself for her outburst. and more so for the fact she had framed. Framed for doing something bad, but she would not allow Kenny to get away with this smelling of roses.

"Can I say..." Nick began.

"NO! THE EVIDENCE IS STACKED AGAINST THEM! THEY DECIDED TO TAKE THE MEDS BECAUSE SHE'S SICK!" Kenny yelled, pointing at a pale faced Natasha who tried to hold in whatever remaining scraps of dignity she had, by straightening her back and looking into Kenny's bronze coloured iris'.

"I am sick. We stole the meds, we cannot deny that. But you also need them, because..."

"Because Sarita's pregnant and you have Sickle Cell amenia, so you need to take painkillers to help with your condition" Nick said.

A loud silence fell over the group, the news that it was Nick of all people who had said it was the first source of shock. Then the group had to process this new damming fact, Sarita was pregnant. Rebecca placed her palms into her hands and sighed deeply, counting down in her head when this all kick off.

"You're pregnant!?" Eddie inquired of Sarita at the exact same time Lilly said to Nick "How the hell do you know all this?" as all eyes settled on Nick. Nick seemed to let out a tiny (yet sinister) smile as he stared back at the dumbfound expressions of the group around him. He let out a short, harsh laugh "What? Not expecting a dumb-shit like me to figure everything out?" his harsh question was met with no instant response. Other than that of the hooting of the owls in the nearby pine trees.

"You're lying, you don't have any evidence...!" Sarita began to gasp, as Nick smirked, "Actually I do. And Actually it's kind of obvious. Sarita give me your gun"

"What?"

"Give me the gun Sarita" Nick repeated dangerously.

"She doesn't have to do shit for you" Kenny growled at Nick just as dangerously, as all attention fixated on the pair of them. Being out of the limelight for a few seconds gave Vitali a chance for his hand to slide closer to his pistol in his hostler around his waist. He gestured at Natasha and Christa to do the same, as the tension only grew greater...

"If you haven't done shit, then you'll be fine with Nick checking your gun" Lilly told Sarita matter of factly, looking back at Kenny, she used the one hand she had, to finally drop her pistol into Nick's open palm. She stood close to Kenny, as both of his larger hands rested on her shoulders, as Nick seemed to tear the gun apart almost instantly, pulling out a magazine and rifling through the golden bullets.

"This is a colt, not a bad gun at all. Great for defending yourself with" Nick grumbled.

"What... are you doing...?" Sarah asked nervously, standing close to Nick, she could feel the situation about to reach the breaking point. She felt safer standing next to the tall, raven haired man, who she saw as her second father/older brother figure.

"Checking the bullets" Nick grunted in reply.

Everyone watched him, everyone waited. Silence once again prevailed in the group, Kenny held Lilly's glare as she continued to hold him at gunpoint. If Lilly wasn't watching him, he could reach for his own gun... meanwhile Vince, Wyatt, Eddie, Mike and Bonnie kept their guns trained on the Russians and Christa. Making it virtually impossible for them to even move a muscle without some itchy trigger finger blowing their brains out.

Finally Nick seemed to finish what he was doing and turned to the group as a whole "So everyone. Sarita here was a medic. She was apparently busy packing things when we left the store. She wasn't a guard, she wasn't fighting the walkers... so none of her bullets should have been used" Nick told them all, as Sarita's felt her gut sink lower, Kenny's look of fury was evident, but there was nothing he could do about it. and he knew that.

"Look at the magazine everyone. Isn't it funny how there's one bullet missing? and just one" Nick hissed, showing the groups rows of golden bullets, that shone weakly in the dark night. Yet there was clearly one gap in the rows of bullets.

The game was up.

"Murderer, you killed an entire family" Nick spat at Sarita.

"You are the same. You are a disgusting human being. You murdered Matthew in cold blood. and you stand here, taking the morale high ground!" Sarita shouted at Nick, who merely met her glare, with his burning blue iris'.

"I knew." Nick said quietly as he seemed to address the whole group now and not just Sarita "I _heard_ Patricia tell Randy about the Russians stealing meds! I kept myself hidden, but I _saw_ everything that went down in that closet! I _SAW_ YOU SHOOT RANDY! I _HEARD_ YOU MAKE THE DAMN FUCKING DEAL! Nick was screaming in rage at the culprits in general now.

"My God, that's why you told me to look after Sarah. When you heard the Russians were stealing meds, you were going to kill them!" Stephanie exclaimed in shock, staring at the grim looking form of Nick in front of her. Who simply nodded as many people gasped.

"Is this it then_ boy?_ You gonna kill us like you killed Matthew? Like you killed Carlos?" Kenny questioned harshly of him, as Vitali shouted "AND DMIRTY!?" As Nick seemed to gulp before finding his voice once again.

"I'm not killing anyone" Nick said clearly, as he made a very clear gesture of dropping his gun, onto the brownish, tyre coated dirt track below him.

"Why not? I thought you were scum. I still do" Vitali growled, hoping to provoke some sort of reaction from Nick. However Nick managed to take a deep breath to retain himself, before he calmly muttered back to the hot-headed Russian, "I won't stoop to your level. Murdering someone is one thing, but keeping it secret and trying to blame someone else? You're not even worth my breath" Nick's damming verdict on the Russians made Arvo dissolve into a heap on the floor as he begged to anyone listening "PLEASE DON'T KICK US OUT! DEAR GOD NO! PLEASE...!"

"Why didn't you tell anyone you knew this Nick?" Stephanie asked him, looking over at her Nick gave her a simple answer.

"Because who would believe a guy who had been thrown in the pen? Who would believe the rapist's friend? Who'd believe the idiot? No one, until I finally got some evidence, in regards to Sarita's whole ammo issue" Nick explained to her, as she nodded somewhat impressed by his logic.

"And you would have got away with it too. If it weren't for those meddling kids" Eddie quoted Scooby Doo, to a seriously pissed off looking Sarita.

"Shut up" she snapped at him, as Eddie puppy dog brownish eyes grew wider, as he shut his mouth. Deciding now was not the time for humour. Then again hardly any time any more was devoted to humour.

"So now what happens to us?" Kenny asked of the group around him.

"Yeah, what does happen to em Vince? Do we leave them here, or let them come with us?" Mike asked, as Arvo wailed louder from below him. Vitali cursed from under his breath and kicked Arvo in the head "Shut up" he spat down at the shaking teenager.

"I... I well..." Vince began to stutter, as the culprits eyes found him.

"We take them with us. We decide what to do with them later. If Lee could give me another chance, I can see it that they get another chance. Although, I think it's safe to say no one will trust them for a long, long while" Lilly snarled, as Kenny merely grunted in her direction.

"I bet you feel like Mary, Mother of Christ for this. But I don't owe you anything" Kenny told her back, as the two continued to glare at each other.

"I don't know why the hell I saved you. If I knew what you would have become... I wouldn't have" Lilly grimly told, a frustrated looking Kenny.

"HEY! I'M JUST DOING WHAT I CAN TOO PROTECT MY NEW FAMILY! I'M NOT SOME FUCKING BANDIT OR PIECE OF SCUM! I'M JUST DOING WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE...!" Kenny exploded, as Lilly began to shout over him.

"YOU'RE NOT DOING WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE! YOU NEED TO THINK ABOUT THE GROUP! THE WHOLE DAMN GROUP!" Lilly reminded him.

"YEAH! I'M SURE YOU WERE THINKING ABOUT THE GROUP WHEN YOU SHOT CARLEY...!"

"Kenny!" Clementine squeaked from the truck, yet her voice went unheard in the cold air.

"Shut up" Lilly growled, the second Kenny brought up Carley's name.

"WHY SHOULD I!? YOU MURDERED THAT WOMAN! JUST LIKE YOU'RE GOING TO MURDER US RIGHT NOW! AND THEN EVERYONE HERE WILL SEE THAT YOU REALLY ARE...!"

Lilly screamed, she let out an ear piercing shriek into the cold night air, that made many people to flinch uncomfortably or jolt backwards in shock. Lilly had barely finished screaming when she sent Kenny spiralling to the floor with a well aimed punch. As this happened, the group seemed to shift... Vitali lunged forwards and managed to tug Vince's gun from his grip.

"GET BACK!" Vitali roared, as Natasha quickly swiped her gun from her hostler. The two of them raised their guns to eye level, as Bonnie, Eddie, Wyatt (and now Kelly) aimed back at them. Elsewhere Kenny lay on the floor, as Lilly had the butt of her gun in his face. As Sarita held her gun to Lilly's head... as Nick held his gun to Sarita's head and... "Basically this is out of control" was the only logic thought Clementine could muster. Other than this she shakily held her gun towards the Russians, she knew what they had done last time... it seemed like they would do it again...

"EVERYONE CHILL THE FUCK OUT!" Stephanie yelled, (only making everyone panic more, as she aimed her gun blindly towards anyone).

"WE ARE WALKING OUT OF HERE! THIS GROUP IS FUCKED!" Natasha screamed to the group in general.

"YEAH! YOU'RE GOING TO SHOOT US AREN'T YOU!? ALL OF YOU ARE AS BAD AS EACH OTHER!" Kenny yelled from where he lay somewhat dazed in the dirt.

"YOU CAN'T SPEAK!" Lilly spat down at him.

"SOMEBODY SHOOT HER!" Arvo screamed, pointing a shaky finger at Lilly.

"NO! THIS HAS TO STOP! WE HAVE KIDS HERE! EVERYONE PLEASE JUST STOP...!" Christa begged, yet her effort to try and tug Vitali's gun from his grip proved effortless, as he pushed her back.

"Vitali! You have to stop this!" Christa begged of him in general as he merely shook his head.

"YOU DON'T GET IT CRYSTAL! THIS IS MY FAMILY!" Vitali (now getting quite emotional) informed her in an outburst. As he gestured at Natasha and Arvo besides him "THEY ALL I HAVE LEFT! IF I SHOOT SOMEONE TO PROTECT THEM! THEN FUCK IT, I WILL!" He continued, his rough words causing AJ to cry, as Rebecca slowly backed away from the scene and towards the trees... powerless to stop this...

"PUT DOWN YOU'RE FUCKING GUN! AND I'LL PUT DOWN MINE! I DON'T WANT TO SHOOT SOMEBODY! NOT AGAIN!" Nick shouted to Vitali, causing the Russian man to lift his gun ever higher.

"YOU! YOU ARE THE WORST OF THEM ALL! I SHOULD SHOOT YOU WHERE YOU STAND!" Vitali roared at him.

"LET'S JUST FUCKING DISCUSS THIS!" Nick roared back.

"NO! GET BACK! GET BACK OR I WILL SHOOT!" Vitali seemed to be panicking now, as himself, Natasha, Arvo and Christa began to back away from the treeline.

"Look" Nick began more calmly, as he chucked his gun (for the second time that night) to the ground. "I'm unarmed, we can discuss this. Just put the gun down man" Nick tried to calmly approach the hot headed Russian man. Everyone eyes were averted to the scene...

"I... I... is there really any going back from this!? I bet were just the bad guys to you!" Natasha spoke up from behind Vitali's hulking form, as she continued on "I know my sickness is a liability, all we wanted was too find a group to accept us..." she told them all sadly.

"It's okay. It's okay. There aren't any liabilities here, we all look out for each other, yeah we have our problems. But do you really thinking splitting the group up is gonna help you or us?" Nick was now feet away from Vitali, the Russian man finally seemed to lower his gun slightly.

"We are alike you know. Me and you. We both do what we can too protect the group" Vitali finally seemed to say, a new found sense of calm and logic spreading across his face, Nick smiled. He had almost defused the situation... almost...

And then the gunshot went off.

It missed Vitali's head by a centimetre, Vitali stumbled backwards and bellowed a curse in Russian, as his angry eyes found Nick's fearful one's.

"NO...!" Nick began to scream.

BANG.

Sarah and Stephanie let out the loudest screams, as Nick doubled over both of his hands crossed across the mass red patch now evident on his stomach. Lilly was on the situation in a heartbeat, as Vitali prepared his second shot, the brunette woman took her aim and fired...

BANG.

Vitali fell backwards. A red hole evident in the centre of his head, as Arvo and Natasha screamed and Christa aimed her gun upwards, only for a well aimed bullet from Bonnie to literally blow her hand off, as the African american woman screamed, and the blood from her wound splattered Arvo and Natasha in her warm blood, her pistol fell to the floor next to her. Christa withered on the ground and held her stump of a hand, as an enraged Natasha looked up.

Sarah was sobbing openly, as Nick slowly fell onto the ground, blood leaking from his mouth as he slowly tried to reach for something... yet he was as good as dead. Stephanie was in shock, but in her panic and revulsion she found herself running... running so damn fast... away from these mad people...

"YOU BITCH!" Natasha shirked, aiming her gun towards Lilly, before the brunette woman could reload her gun and fire back, Natasha aimed her gun and...

BANG!

"NO!"

Natasha's head exploded, as chunks of her brains and skull fell onto her younger brother. Arvo himself simply sank to the floor in a surreal shock. The tears that fell from his eyes did not stop pouring, he saw through his hazy vision that Nick had crawled back over to where he had dropped his gun and lifted it up and killed his sister. Killed her in cold blood, after all he had said about the group sticking together...

He numbly wiped a splash of sister's face of his own, wiping away the skin and tangled blonde hairs from his face. A hatred Arvo couldn't put into words, filled his gut whenever he gazed at Nick. He wanted the man to suffer. He had assumed Vitali's shot to stomach had finished him off, but right now he wasn't so sure...

"NICK!" Sarah screamed crashing into the man she cared so much about. Vince got his act together and finally trained a gun on Christa, the woman was still wrenching in the undergrowth, as she tried to grasp her now none existent left hand.

"You bastards, you bastards..." she moaned up to them, her eyes watering, as she was consumed by a world of pain.

"GET ME THE MEDS!" WE NEED MEDS OVER HERE!" Vince was yelling to anyone would who listen. Wyatt obeyed his order almost instantly, grabbing the meds from the back of the truck, yet the second he ran out of the trucks with Meds juggled in his hands, he heard the engine to the truck rev up.

"What the hell!?" he yelled, as the tyre's screeched on the dirt track, as the truck slowly began to accelerate. Lilly seemed to realise who was missing almost instantly, and knew who was trying to get away from the group for good.

"STEF! NO!" She screamed. The young woman sat at the front of the truck, placing her foot down on the pedal as she prepared to drive out of the damn place...

"NO! WE CAN'T LOST OUR TRUCK! WE CAN'T!" Kenny yelled in desperation, but it was Sarita who took action, scooping up a spare gun on her belt, the Indian woman fired into the tyres of the truck in pure desperation to keep it in place.

Instead of that, the truck swerved violently, Stephanie screamed from where she was sitting in the front of the truck, as Sarita's bullets deflated the tyres with a loud "POP". Without the tyres she lost control of the truck completely. She felt herself (with a horrible fleeting feeling in her stomach) fly from her seat, as she smashed her head against the top of the truck, as the world went black for her. The truck itself drove straight into the awaiting pines at the side of the dirt path, Clementine watched in a surreal fashion, as the truck flipped over on it's side... and with a massive crunching and screeching noise... watch it smash down sideways into the pine tree's...

Windows smashed, the engine seemed to catch fire, as grey smoke plume's rose from truck. One or two mass pine trees fell to the ground with the truck, as vegetation rustled violently and a black swarm of crows, cawed loudly as they flew from the fallen trees below them.

It was Lilly, who ran up and dragged a bloodied and shaking Stephanie from the front of the truck, Clementine could only watch as Lilly helped support the younger woman, as they hit level ground. In which Stephanie regained conscious for a few seconds.

"What the fuck were you thinking!? You destroyed our only form of transportation!" Lilly snapped angrily, dragging the younger woman back towards the group.

Disregarding this information completely, the only thing Stephanie could mumble to Lilly above her... (blood trailing from her mouth) was... "Is... ick... alright?" before she passed out again, as Lilly dragged her forwards, to where Wyatt and Sarah were spread out thinly trying to deal with everyone. Lilly gave Sarita and Kenny a glare as she passed. With their guns now firmly on the ground, Sarita looked up at Kenny.

"Now what happens?" she found herself sobbing to him.

"I... I don't know" he admitted. He absolutely hated not being able to do anything, other than a hold a weeping Sarita. As she wept her heart out on his chest, as Kenny rubbed her back. Elsewhere Bonnie had moved the corpses of the two Russians into the treeline, as Mike stared down sadly at the shaking form of Arvo.

"Hey kid, I'm sorry about what happened" Mike told him awkwardly. Arvo didn't respond to his comment, the 18 year old was curled into himself, everything that had just happened... he couldn't process it. He could only look on at where people had surrounded Nick. Nick and Lilly... they had murdered his family... he would get them back. No matter what it took.

Christa was unconscious, Wyatt's priority was making sure that she didn't bleed out. Vince had ordered them to help the wounded, Stephanie was brought onto the scene, yet only Lilly seemed willing to help her. Stephanie had stolen the truck and ultimately gotten it destroyed... yes, Sarita had shot at it. But Stephanie had tried to run from them in the first place. So sympathy was limited for her, (from what Lilly overheard the others discussing).

"Please be okay... please be okay..." Sarah begged, as Rebecca, Clementine and Luke helped apply pressure onto Nick's wound on his stomach. She had already pulled out the bullets. Nick had joked to Sarah (despite his state) that this was becoming the norm for him. Sarah had laughed as tears had fallen from her eyes at the same time. Right now she held on tightly to Nick's weak, bloodstained hand in her warmer and stronger one.

"Promise me, promise me you'll be okay" She begged of him.

"I... never break a promise" Nick muttered weakly before he shuddered, as his eyes closed. Sarah panicked and leaned in... to her sheer relief he was still breathing...

Clementine stood up in a daze. It had all happened so fast... her head felt light...

Christa's hand was gone, it had been blown off. Stephanie had tried to steal the truck and crashed it, hence they were now stuck on foot. Lilly and Nick had killed Natasha and Vitali, (seemingly in self-defence) right now the group were busy patching each other up... all still in shock over what had happened and how fast it had all happened.

"Not a very good birthday, huh?" Luke asked, Clementine jumped. Not realising the brown haired man had been behind her, yet she nodded at his comment.

"I'm just glad Nick's okay" Luke muttered, his voice somewhat distant as he gazed up the dark sky above him.

Clementine had noticed how Luke had stayed silent throughout the entire argument, he seemed defeated now. After this whole "rape" Luke didn't seem to have a fighting word anymore. If he was broken before... he was obliterated now. For Clementine it was too depressing to know that he was too far gone...

No. She would stand by Luke. She wouldn't lose him. Not again.

And as for the person who had started everything? The person who fired the shot at Vitali in the first place, that had led to the deaths of two of the Russian group. That had led to Stephanie panicking and crashing the truck into the trees where it now slowly burned (the others had managed to get their supplies out in time) all these injures... and all these deaths...

Vince and Kelly held the man responsible for it all at their feet. He remained silent, his head bowed as Vince kept a close eye on him, while looking over at the group in general.

Eddie had panicked. He had assumed that Vitali was going to shoot Nick. But now he never felt more shame... his mistake had led to all of this death and destruction. One simple shot had been the trigger for it all... he doubted the group would forgive him.

He kept his head hung low.

_This wasn't a joke anymore. _


	16. Looking Ahead

**A/N: On with the story, and time to answer your questions! **

**Chameishida- I'm glad you pointed out that Christa basically repeated her lines, as I completely overlooked it while writing the last chapter, but I'll be sure to keep an eye out for such things in the future. and thanks for your review as always and I look forward to hearing more from you!**

**Emily Carver- Originally it was meant to be someone else who pulled the trigger (the plot changes quite a bit as a write it) but I'm glad the fact it was Eddie shocked you, as I love to keep everyone guessing and surprised. and I'll try to get some Kenny, Sarita and Clem bonding moments in there. Kenny's still stubborn Kenny and I don't want everyone not to care about him as the story goes on.**

**Rebloxic- Well I tried to humanise Vitali a bit in the end, but all in all there are a lot of characters still left to like and still a lot left to lose...**

**ffapathy- Loved your review, I'm going to try and make it during the next couple of chapters, so the likes of Kenny, Sarita, Vince, Kelly, Christa and Arvo can be sympathised with. People will still probably like Eddie (despite what he did) and understand Stephanie's motives for trying to flee. Nobody's perfect and I try to avoid making Mary or Gary Stu's in the story. **

**Ayuka86- Nope, Luke's fine, for now (gives evil laugh)**

**Maximo- Yeah the story can get depressing but I always try and add some humour or light somewhere. **

**Transformers g1's-prime- Favourite Villain? Comic wise the Governor without a shadow of a doubt. The TV Show, I'd say Shane, as the governor fell a little flat. However in the game, and my favourite villain of all walking dead media is the stranger. Mostly because he was a broken man, (insane, but still broken) and you could actually sympathise with him, the whole final confrontation between him and Lee was well done. When I got to Marsh House I just wanted to gut him and leave with Clem, however he sits you down and makes you morally question every choice you've made. There was no dramatic music, no build-up... just him and you and complete silence. It was chilling and really left an impression on me. So yeah, the stranger is my number one villain. **

**and thanks to the rest of you for your reviews!**

* * *

_"HEY DAD! DAD! LOOK WHAT I GOT! LOOK WHAT I GOT!" _

_Kenny Junior waved the yellow certificate in his father's face, as Kenny smiled and scooped up his six year old son. In doing so his wife Kajtaa slowly glided across the lawn to their somewhat small house, as she pecked her husband on the cheek, who had just returned from a fishing trip._

_"He won a certificate for good behaviour. He has been wanting to show you this for weeks Kenny" Kajtaa informed him, her smile was somewhat paper thin, as he looked down at her son who was bouncing up and down in his father's arms. Kenny felt a pang of guilt circulate around his gut._

_"Aw, well I'm sorry I missed that Duck" Kenny said to his only son._

_"It's cool! Mum says you have fun fishing!" Duck shouted up at his father, Kenny couldn't help but smile at his son's enthusiasms and energy, even at only six years old._

_"So, will you be staying for a while Kenny?" Kajtaa asked, a smile worming it's way onto her face, as she stroked her blonde curls, Kenny grinned at her and draped his arm over her shoulders as he muttered "You got me all weekend Kat, and the weekend after that and the weekend after that..." he trailed on as Kajtaa giggled at him. With his son in his arms and his wife joint at his hip, he happily approached his small, but cosy home._

_"Hey dad, you're going to stay for a long time this time, aren't you?" Duck asked curiously._

_"Of course I will" Kenny lied, as he entered his true home._

Opening his eyes, Kenny's eyes did not adjust to the cosy furniture, or mounted fish on the walls of his old home. Instead a dark and solitary dirt track spiralled off into the mountains above him, as he sighed and reached one hand out into the empty air, as if too touch something that was no longer there...

"Kajtaa... Duck. What the hell do I do now?" he muttered quietly under his breath, watching the whitish vapour rise between his eyes. It sure was cold out here.

Nothing replied, other than the whistling winds, blown from the top of the pine trees as they stung at Kenny's exposed ears. Readjusting the old red cap on his head, he sighed out loud. Regretting everyone that had happened in the past, he always loved fishing. Spending more time on a boat somewhere rather than with Kajtaa and Duck. He had missed so many of Duck's birthdays... he had missed so many chances to kiss and hold Kajtaa, now his family were gone and there was nothing he could do to get it back.

He couldn't take back stealing the meds either. He and done that, he had framed the Russians and gotten half of them killed. All for what? To try and get his old family back? To get _a_ family back? It seemed the more he did, the more he regretted it.

"I think they hate us" came a voice from behind him, as Kenny turned to see a sunken looking Sarita standing there. Her eyes were downcast, as she nervously glanced at the scurrying group behind her. The truck at the side of the ride had smouldered itself, into a grey sludge of a wreck that was certainly no longer able to travel them anywhere. The group themselves were busy, some were gathered around a small map they had with them. Others were tending to the wounded who lay on the bare ground, some used clothes or blankets to help them feel more comfortable.

"That isn't I think Sarita, it's obvious they hate us" Kenny muttered cynically, still gazing at the almost blue-ish rock face of the nearest mountain.

"All I wanted is too protect you and the baby. I didn't want any of this" Sarita told him, as her hand slid into Kenny's, he squeezed it hard. His family... the only family he had left, his second chance... it all relied on Sarita and the baby. That was the only thing keeping him going, keeping him surviving.

"I shot at the truck, we probably would have got to Wellington if I hadn't..." Sarita began, as Kenny shushed her.

"No, we'd have lost the truck no matter what. You made sure Stef didn't get away. It ain't your fault" Kenny reassured her, as Sarita followed his gaze into the mountains ahead of him.

"We'll get there Sarita" Kenny growled, knowing exactly what she was thinking. Knowing that his whole trek looked too daunting to be accomplished, but Kenny was determined and nothing would stop him.

"We will get to Wellington, we'll have our kid there. Everything is going to be fine" he muttered to her, while brushing her black hair.

Sarita looked up at him for a minutes, she let out a shaky breath.

"Considering everything that's happened. That's the only option for us now" she told him, as he slowly nodded in agreement.

"HEY! YOU TWO, YOU'RE NOT RUNNING OFF ARE YOU!?" Wyatt yelled in their direction, as Kenny grunted and turned around, telling a somewhat frightened looking Sarita "Well, brace yourself for the fireworks..." as they approached where the group was waiting.

* * *

"Well!?" Lilly demanded the second Kenny was in front of her.

Kenny exhaled for quite a while before he finally told the group at large "Look... I know this don't mean much... but we're so sorry over everything that happened" the group store on silently, their expressions judgemental, Christa, Stephanie and Nick had awoken (in pain, but conscious) to hear Kenny's words.

"I... I just panicked when I shot Randy! The only thing I could think about was protecting my baby...!" Sarita suddenly seemed to exclaim.

"Well, that's just another problem for the group" Kelly hissed at her, as Sarita's hands flew over her stomach. In a protective manner.

"All the more reason to reach Wellington, which will now be a lot harder, thanks to a certain someone" Vince growled, his black eyes locking on Stephanie who merely shrugged and rolled her eyes.

"What? I'm not apologising for panicking and trying to get away from this crazy ass group" She spat from where she lay on the floor.

"Well then why don't you leave now then?" Kenny spat back at her.

"Because where the hell would I go? I wouldn't make it a mile on foot if I was alone. But you're seriously tempting me to think differently" She argued back up to a stern faced Kenny.

"Let's not go passin' out blame..." Luke interjected so quietly, it was as if his voice didn't exist in this debate.

"Where the hell were you plannin' to go anyway, even with the RV!?" Kenny shouted.

"I DON'T KNOW! JUST AWAY FROM YOU PEOPLE!" Stephanie screamed.

"YOU DON'T HAVE THE FOGGEST DO YOU!? STOP ACTIN' ALL TOUGH! BECAUSE WITHOUT THIS GROUP, YOU'RE JUST A SCARED LITTLE GIRL...!" Kenny roared back at her.

"Stop shoutin' you'll draw walkers and God knows what here. Hell, we've already shouted enough!" Bonnie cut through the argument, her point clear as Kenny managed to calm himself down, through heaves of breath. Stephanie looked down at her knees, feeling hurt by Kenny's comment. Not really sure why she wanted to flee, all she knew is that she saw Nick got shot and she lost her head... she just had to get away from it all. But now she didn't feel like leaving at all... maybe Kenny was right (as harshly as he had put it).

"Okay that's enough" Vince said, as everything had calmed down. Before he turned to Christa, "Anything you want to say?" he asked of her.

"You people blew off my hand and killed my group, I understand it was wrong to steal the meds from you guys, but Natasha needed them the same way Sarita does. Look... I'm saying this as calmly as I can. Just give me my space and let me clear my head" Christa did actually seem to be sweating to retain herself from screaming the most hateful things at the rest of the group, when she finished speaking she gulped and her eyes found Nick and Lilly.

"Strangely enough I don't blame you two for what happened. It was self defence, but there is one person here I know I can't forgive" she muttered grimly, all eyes found a downtrodden Eddie. Eddie seemed on the verge of hysteria when he spoke.

"I-I just lost it! Honestly! I t-thought that guy was going to shoot Nick! I screwed up! I fucked up! I know I did!" He was shouting this, as the group's expressions didn't change.

"Yeah he did shoot Nick. Thanks to you, and you got Vitali and Natasha killed and you single Handley made the situation to shit in the space of two seconds. It was your fault Christa doesn't have a hand! It's your fault Stef panicked and crashed the truck! Don't you fucking get it Eddie!? IT'S ALL FUCKING YOUR FAULT!" Vince roared, as he swung a fist at the bearded man. Eddie yelped and fell backwards clutching his bleeding face, as Vince heaved and gasped above him, preparing another fist.

"NO! Vince that's enough! He knows he did something stupid!" Clementine yelled running onto the scene, she couldn't stand back and watch this horror show any more. She was not a helpless kid.

"Get back Clementine! You know he deserves this" Vince growled.

"No! Eddie's a good guy, he just messed up. A lot of us messed up!" Clementine tried to reason with an enraged looking Vince.

"YEAH!? BUT YOU'VE NEVER FUCKED UP THAT BAD HAVE YOU! DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE CLEM BEING LEADER HERE?! YOU AND LUKE GOT IT EASY, SITTING BEHIND A DESK, BUT OUT HERE IT'S A DIFFERENT STORY! SOMETHING STUPID KIDS LIKE YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND...!" Vince explosion of words, frightened Clementine to the very core, but she had to come back fighting, she opened her mouth, before Luke did it for her.

"Clem ain't stupid" he muttered approaching Vince.

"Don't come near me! Not after what you did to Kelly. You have no right to speak, let alone actually be here! We should have left your rapist ass behind...!" Vince ranted.

"You think you're one tough leader, even though I know you set up the whole rape thing. Did you have to stoop that low Vince? You ain't a leader, you're pathetic" Luke spat at the Asian man, as Vince seemed to shrink into himself for a second, before he came out fighting.

"HIS MAD! YOU'RE FUCKING MAD! YOU HEAR THAT EVERYONE! HE THINKS I SET UP MY GIRLFRIEND TO BE RAPED! HIS FUCKING LOST IT...!"

"I know no one will believe me. But that's the truth, isn't it Vince? The truth you are never going to admit, or you Kelly. Will you tell everyone really happened in my office!?" he snapped at her. Kelly looked uncertain for a second, spiking some interest, before her eyes filled with tears and she pointed a wild finger at Luke.

"YOU FUCKING RAPED ME! THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED!" The Asian woman screamed at him, he let a causal laugh (which concerned Clementine) and muttered "Sure, sure, I look mad now don't I? I look so mad..." he trailed off, smiling somewhat as he stood by Clementine, shielding him from Vince's fury. Clementine heard Luke mutter under his breath "Crafty bastard... crafty fucking bastard..."

"We know Luke's fucking lost it. But c'mon man, we can give Eddie another chance" Wyatt went up to tell Vince, no doubt still having a lot of loyalty for his old friend.

"Yeah. I don't blame him" Nick's voice was very croaky and quiet (then again that was kind of expected after being shot in the stomach) as the group turned down at him surprised at his words.

"But... I thought you'd be all mad at him. His the reason your shot man" Mike told Nick uncertainly.

"I know. But I shot Matthew for the same reason, Eddie was only trying to protect a friend, so I understand him" Nick muttered, with Nick's word on it, Vince let out an angry puff and snarled "Fine! He can stay! Just keep him the hell away from me!" before he suddenly turned on Nick.

"You know Nick, seeing as you watched Randy die like that, you could have shot him to put him out of misery. But you failed to do that, care to explain why?" Vince growled at him, as the realisation dawned on Nick and everyone else, Nick felt inclined to give his only honest answer.

"Yeah, fine. Say that, but I fucked up too, I didn't think he'd come back and kill Patricia but what happened, happened and served as evidence to help us target the traitors, I did what I could" Nick concluded, as Vince only glared down at him.

"You're as guilty as the rest of them. You just watched, wanting to take the morale fucking high ground didn't you? At least the other traitors aren't pretentious assholes like yourself" he snapped at the raven haired man.

"Say that again" Nick said, his temper starting to resurface, Vince knew he had hit a sore spot.

"That's enough! Stop treating everyone like their scum! and making yourself out to be such a great leader Vince!" Stephanie yelled, in Nick's defence, putting on a deep sarcastic grumble for the last three words, as Vince whipped around to face her.

"Vince has been leading us just fine!" Kelly told Stephanie harshly, as a few people nodded heads to show they agreed with Kelly.

"Oh give me a fucking break, Vince hasn't done bat-shit other than scream at people" Stephanie told the group.

"And you've done nothing, other than deliberately try and fuck the group over sideways!" Vince angrily told her back.

"But I'm not leader Vince. You are. Or are you? Because last time I checked, Lilly seems to be doing a much better job than you"

Vince remained silent for a few seconds as Lilly seemed to unable to speak "Me?" she questioned out loud in doubt, she had only run around giving people a few orders, she felt more like a nuisance than a leader.

"Yeah, you I'd feel better if you were in charge and not him" Stephanie said to Lilly, pointing directly at Vince, who merely folded his arms over his chest at her comment.

"Yeah well Vince is our leader and his doing okay, so everybody just calm down" Mike said, trying to be the voice of reason, as the group fell silent, the argument, for now was over.

But the cold air was still filled with tension.

* * *

"Hey... you alright?"

Arvo had been sat on the dirt path, quite a distance from the others, as he glared at the floor, upon hearing a deep grumble, he looked up to find Mike had asked that question. Mike and Bonnie had always seemed so kind to the group, but that stupid thick bitch Bonnie had blown Christa's hand off with no remorse. Just as Vitali and his sister lay dead... not by the cultists, but by this group...

No one was to be trusted. Arvo knew the group probably didn't trust him. He knew he would die. Hell, ever since his leg incident he had a wish to die. To do something heroic and save his sister, Vitali and Christa. He knew Vitali liked his sister, they could have denied it all they wanted. But Arvo knew. Vitali even had shouted at him once, (when Arvo had pissed him off) "DON'T DO THAT AGAIN! I'LL MAKE YOU SQUEAL LOUDER THAN I MADE YOUR SISTER SQUEAL LAST NIGHT!" Although Vitali knew he had let something slip, Arvo didn't care. He knew anyway. He always had. He wanted to die so his sister could be happy.

Yes Vitali could be something of a brute, but Buricko was usually much worse. Vitali was only acting like an ass because of Buricko's death, yes the man had many flaws but Arvo found it admirable how willing Vitali was to protect the group. So much so he had shot upon a group that had far outnumbered him too protect "His family" Arvo had sat there and cowered, while his sister and Vitali were blown to bits. Vitali and Natasha were dead and he was alive. It wasn't the way it was meant to be.

"Hey, if you want to talk... it's fine" Mike tried to repeat to a silent Arvo, but Arvo didn't speak. Know he couldn't even have his happy ending of an heroic death, there was no one (probably other than Christa) who he was willing to die for. There was one man to blame. Nick. Nick had shot his sister in cold blood, Natasha had the decency to try and talk to Nick when he was in the pen. And this was how that murderous brute repaid her? It made Arvo furious...

And what was worse, is that Nick acted as if he had the morale high ground. But he sat there like a vulture, watching but not doing anything. He had killed Patricia just as much as they had. Arvo was happy that Vince had exposed Nick for what he was. But there was one thing Nick also did that annoyed Arvo...

"He isn't talking Sarah, I don't think it's a good idea" He heard Mike's voice from behind him, as he heard someone crouch down from next to him.

Nick had stolen Sarah from him.

"Hey" Sarah said, as Arvo gulped, his one chance for romance... he couldn't get close to anyone, that was close to Nick... he hated them all. But maybe he did feel something for Sarah once...maybe he still did. But in his rage and grief, he simply couldn't muster a positive thought.

Arvo spoke to her, he said he was sad, Sarah told him she was sorry and that Nick was sorry. Arvo wanted to scream about it being "bullshit!" but he clipped his tongue and responded with a simple nod and asked to be left alone for a while, he wanted his space. Sarah understood as Mike led her back to the group. Arvo trailed Sarah's form.

Wouldn't it have been a shame if Nick _"had an accident"?_ she would come crying back to him and he'd have his romance.

He'd have something to live for, with Nick's death.

* * *

Rebecca somehow found herself on the outskirts of the group, as the huddled around a small map planning their next move, she peered into the cluster of people but couldn't make out too much, as she sighed and looked to the road ahead of her.

"Honestly Alvin, we only have to follow the road, why do the silly adults have to spend hours around a map huh?" she asked her 11 month year old son, as he drooled on her hands and didn't give an answer, as she smiled and pulled the child closer to her... yet her arms started to ache. Alvin was growing fast, give it another month or two and he'd be a stumbling toddler and Rebecca didn't want that. Not out here.

"I suppose you're glad this happened to me, right?"

Rebecca whipped around to find Christa standing there, looking sullen as she stared at her stump of a hand. She didn't look threatening anymore... just sad and rather pitiful in her baggy clothes.

"I suppose I am" Rebecca told her honestly, shielding Alvin from this threat of a woman.

Christa sighed and looked up, she gulped before wiping her fringe from her bony face "First Omid, Then the baby, then Clem leaves, and now Vitali and Natasha. I can't ever keep hold of anyone in this mess" she croaked sadly, as Rebecca lowered her arms slightly.

"All I wanted to keep the Russians close. They were the only family I had. Now I've lost them as well. You don't know how lucky you are to have AJ" Christa told her, as Rebecca simply stared back at the tall woman on the dirt path.

"It's very hard, raising a child in a world like this and now were out here... I know I'm lucky... but it's going to be a challenge" Rebecca stated as Christa's expression didn't seem to change.

"At least you have a challenge though, I don't have anything left to look forward too" Christa almost sounded lost, like a sour tempered child who couldn't get their favourite sweet, Rebecca couldn't think of anything to say, she was never good at comforting people. She was never good at telling Alvin how much she loved him and whenever she did mutter those words they felt forced... but Alvin was always warm and welcoming and all she did was treat him like crap... here she was treating Christa like crap.

She supposed (because she remembered her father being tough on her) that Rebecca was tough on others. Christa didn't say anything else other than "I just thought you should know. You really don't know how lucky you are" before she wandered off to sit next to Arvo, leaving Rebecca standing there in silence. She probably couldn't say something to Christa but after the events of tonight... she didn't feel like saying anything nice to anybody. So she kept her mouth shut and she kept Alvin Junior close to her chest.

She only wished she could crash into her late husband's snug embrace now. She needed it more than ever.

* * *

"So, were nearly at the border to Virginia..."

"Those are the Appalachian mountains up there, we follow them we should get through Virginia and then we head through West Virginia and Ohio and we'll reach Michigan" Vince said matter of factly as Bonnie's face became troubled.

"We'll have to walk through two states to get to Michigan, it will take us weeks" she whined.

"We'll it's either that or nothing, if you want to complain, complain to Eddie or Stephanie, their the reason were in this mess" Kelly told the redhead woman as she looked back to where Wyatt was talking to a still downtrodden looking Eddie.

"I don't know, Stef and Eddie, their both young and are bound to make some mistakes and Luke and Clem had a point, everyone makes mistakes"

The group remained silent after Bonnie's words, which was her way of guessing they didn't agree with her, or that they were indifferent. Yet Bonnie couldn't help but feel, maybe if she had intervened earlier, exposed the Russians for what they were... maybe this scenario could have been avoided.

She shared a look with Mike, when she looked up from the map had. She knew he blamed himself in some bizarre way, he may not have shown it on the outside, but Bonnie knew. She knew him too well, she knew in future they had to act.

A few feet away from them, Wyatt simply groaned as Eddie went on, trying to explain himself.

"Dude... I swear I didn't mean too! My finger just slipped... and fuck! I dunno... it just happened okay!? I just... fuck! I..."

"Please Eddie, I am actually begging you. But please, just shut up. You're only making it worse on yourself" Wyatt told him, Eddie sunk his head, as his words puffed into the white vapour that came out of his mouth.

"It's just like last time. Who wants a bet Vince will chase us down in a monster truck this time" Eddie sullenly told Wyatt above him. Wyatt gave him the oddest look, spurred on by Wyatt's silence, Eddie looked up to find Wyatt staring at him as if he had grown two heads.

"What?" Eddie asked humorously as Wyatt couldn't help but chuckle.

"Monster truck? Seriously, you come up with some random shit sometimes man" Was Wyatt's dry reply, for one of the only times in his life Eddie felt too low about himself to banter back to his best friend.

"Yeah" Eddie replied, his voice trailing off, as he looked up at Wyatt.

"Dude, I need to thank you..."

"Oh no. No mushy shit man, no fucking mushy shit..."

"Wyatt! Seriously, I know I've fucked up so bad this time..."

"I'm not listening, I'm not listening..." Wyatt sang to himself, planting his hands over his ears.

"Seriously, I don't know how you deal with my lousy ass..."

"La La La La, Can't hear you!"

"I'd be dead without you"

Wyatt kept his act of pretending not to hear what an emotional Eddie had to say, but he heard every word and it did secretly touch the bored looking blonde man.

As Eddie had once told quoted to him, during one drunken night out, "Friendship's like piss Wyatt! Everyone can see it! But only you can feel it's warmth!"

Wyatt would stick with Eddie, no matter how many times Eddie fucked up. Besides who the hell would he share banter with if Eddie went. He tried to assure himself to only reason he wanted Eddie around, was so he could keep someone around to torment, but they both knew the truth was more mushy than that.

* * *

"Leader huh? Really? You're not just trying to flatter me" Lilly asked of Stephanie who had managed to get back onto her feet, with Lilly's help. For now Stephanie steadied herself on her own, before she replied to Lilly's comment.

"No, I'm serious. You were the one searching for the meds, you went out to try and save Gill, while Vince was too busy lecturing the group on what Luke had done. I think Vince means well for us, but his all talk and no action. You on the other end..." Stephanie finished, as Lilly smiled at the younger woman.

"Well thanks. But If I was leader It would probably turn out for the worse. Carver got ripped to shreds by Luke, Luke snapped and raped Kelly and Vince is starting to lose control of the group... it never ends well for leaders. I know because I snapped too..." Lilly recounted, her tone soft as she remembered the situation like it was yesterday.

"But that Lee guy forgave you right?" Stephanie inquired, as Lilly closed her eyes.

"Yeah... yeah he did and I completely blew it back in his face and stole the RV from him" Lilly muttered bitterly, Stephanie noted this tone and suddenly seemed to realise something.

"You, you liked this Lee guy didn't you?"

Lilly didn't say a word, she couldn't say a word because she hadn't told anyone. She hadn't told anyone how passionately she had secretly loved Lee Everett. It's that why she shot Carley? Was it all jealously all along? Yes she was suspicious of Carley, but she reckoned her jealously had played a part in Carley's demise. She had destroyed the man she had loved, she killed his lover and left him stranded. After that Lilly promised never too love again... she could never erase Lee's image from her mind...

And when she found the picture, she craved to see him again. Too protect Clementine, even if Lee was gone she felt like she could make it up to him, by protecting the little girl he cared so much about. Was she doing a good job?

"Hey, guess we've had a rough day huh?" Came Nick's deep grumble from behind Lilly. The older woman turned to face Nick, a large bandage was stretchered across his torso, he could walk, but gingerly and slowly every few steps, he winced in some new found pain.

"Yeah, but you saved my life. Thanks Nick" Lilly said.

"No problem. I guess I just shot the right one this time" he said back to her. Lilly simply muttered a weary "Yes" in reply to Nick. Something about him reminded him of Lee, it sounded strange, but under the hot headed surface, Nick still had that humanity left in him. That Humanity that was so hard to find three years into this apocalypse, he knew that bit of compassion Nick had rubbed off on Sarah. Those two... they were rays of light in this dark world and she didn't want them to be wiped out, anytime soon.

She knew it was dangerous to care about people. From what happened to her dad and Lee, but this time, she would stick around until the end.

* * *

Lilly spoke to Nick for a short while, before she went off next to the map to help sort things out. Stephanie egged her on with this and told her to "Set them straight" there was something Lilly liked about Stephanie as well. Sure she had just tried to ditch the group, but Stephanie was 21. She was barely an adult and only five years older than Sarah, a lot of people seemed to miss out on this fact, but Lilly felt like a mother to Stephanie sometimes. Stephanie had been through a lot of trauma that she had told Lilly about, they were both outcasts in their own ways.

She was surprised Stephanie had not yet asked about why Lilly had given her the flare. Lilly guessed the younger woman who ask her in time, but for now she simply left Stef along with Nick...

"Okay, say I fucked up. Say I didn't look after Sarah. Say what a horrible person I am" Stephanie told Nick in front of her.

"You fucked up. You didn't look after Sarah. You're a horrible person" Nick told her, his tone flat, as Stephanie couldn't help but grin.

"Gosh, you're so mean Nick!" She mocked argued, seeing as she couldn't think of any other way to talk to him at the moment. She went with some ill placed humour, hoping he would respond, he didn't seem impressed, as Stephanie gulped.

"Okay, in all seriousness I am sorry Nick. I just thought that first shot had killed you and I..." she didn't know why, but she felt a sudden urge to hug the taller man. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she held him tight, as a stunned Nick simply stood there rigid, as Stephanie muttered "You damn Idiot! You should have been more careful! Why'd you have to try and be good person" Nick still stood with his arms, limp by his sides, his anger at Stephanie evaporating as he muttered his own response.

"I'm just glad you're okay too"

They seemed to hold onto each other for a little while longer.

"Stef?"

"Yeah" Stephanie mumbled into his t-shirt.

"You're crushing my stomach here"

"Oh" Stephanie muttered, jumping away from Nick, as he coughed slightly before regaining himself, he looked across the dirt path to where Stephanie was smiling at him. "So, can we say sorry and make up?" she asked, putting on her best puppy dog eyes.

"No, we'll hate each other forever" Nick responded, as Stephanie laughed, and walked off (pretending to cry into her hands) but that didn't stop her from shooting one last smile at Nick, who realised his cheeks were burning and how wide and goofy looking his smile must have been. Snapping himself back to reality, he growled to himself "Now ain't the time to be losing your shit over a girl. You just killed people and got shot yourself, this is a time to act serious and sensible". Yet maybe it was because of all the death and misery, that both young adults felt more inclined to tease each other and share some banter. In fact Nick wanted to joke with Stephanie more now, than he ever had before.

Because after what just happened, he was losing hope in his own morales. and wanted to salvage every moment he could with Sarah, or Stephanie before they died or he did.

* * *

"OKAY, EVERY READY! LET'S GET WALKING!" Vince yelled to the group in general, as he led the way. Everyone was ready to go, some were still wounded and moving slower than others, but they had plenty of bags and supplies packed with them, or strapped across their backs, or stored in their pockets.

Clementine felt like she was on a camping trip, despite what had just happened, she couldn't help but feel slightly excited that they were moving on. Besides she had stood up to Vince, she wouldn't allow herself to become a snivelling child again that easily.

Without any warning, somebody scooped up her small form and she found herself clinging to this person's back.

"Hey! Put me down!" she yelled.

"Nah, it's your birthday present Clem, free piggyback ride from me" Luke told her, despite some disapproving look's from the others, none one spoke up to complain. Luke seemed actually happy and content to having Clem on his broad back. Clementine clung to it, happy to see that by some miracle... maybe Luke was coming back to her.

Or maybe Luke's sole source of happiness_ was her._


	17. Playing It Dirty

**A/N: Glad you're all along with the ride as this story ventures on, and I hope this next chapter entertains!**

**Transformers g1's prime- Hmm... interesting idea. I'll think about it, but I can't spoil anything here and as for your 5 questions (don't worry you're not bothering me, I always like to share my opinion with others)...**

**1) I quite like Negan. I don't think his up there with the Governor, in how epic in terms a villain he is, but his craziness and strong profanity sets him as a unique character and not a Governor clone.**

**2) I loved the hunters in the comics, but I would have to choose Terminus from the show, because I just loved how they were handled and they seemed pretty damn menacing to me (I know they got destroyed in one episode, but still... In your story they could last longer) so yeah... terminus for me.**

**3) I'll get round to it when I can (most of the time I spend on here, is writing his story and all that) but any spare time I do have I will get round to check that story out.**

**4) Episodes 3 and 4? Well, I'm just going to say everything that happened in my very own fic No Going Back? Is how I would have improved Episodes 3 and 4.**

**5) Can't spoil anything, but Nate was my favourite character from 400 days as well...**

**Rebloxic- Glad you like "Stephanick" (I still don't think I'm the best writer at romance, but I try) and as for your question. I think I'll aim for the 52 chapters again, but it may be shorter depending on what happens or how lengthy I make each chapter.**

**ffapathy- Thanks for your review and as for the grammar issue... yeah I do slip up sometimes, I'll try to work on it and improve my style of writing (I was better than I was when I first started writing) so... I'll try my best! and as for the question regarding Eddie and Wyatt... nah. It's a bromance, a very strong one at that.**

**eggomypeggo-Thanks for your kind words.**

**Emily Carver- Thanks, it's nice to have a Kenny fan amongst my reviewers, and have his character cause so much of a divide of an opinion, yes he is flawed but interesting... anyway thanks for your review! Can't wait to hear more from you!**

**Chameishida- Thanks for another great review! The whole Stephanie-Nick-Lilly love triangle thing was never meant to be happen, as I meant to say it, as Lilly feels a maternal caring towards Nick... but now it's been brought up I'm actually going along with the idea! The more I think about it, the more it makes sense, Nick's is 26 in this story and Lilly in her mid thirties, so it's not much of an age gap. They can both relate to each other because of the mistakes they made... they have each other's backs and killed the Russians to save each other's lives... yes Lilly acts like the "I don't need no man!" strong independent woman. But having her fall for Nick would show a more flawed, vulnerable side to her character. (added to the fact Nick and Stef are starting to hit it off, it may cause more drama and plot-lines to unfold) **

**And thanks to the rest of you for your kind words!**

* * *

_"Really Vince? You just shot the dude?" _

_"My brother was in trouble, I had to do it" Vince muttered back to a wide eyed Russell. The younger African american man was perched upwards, his body tense as Vince lay back on the grassy ground near to the campsite. The almost purple-ish hum of the stars above them on the summer night made for a very relaxed mood in their camp. Bonnie and Wyatt were playing some sort of "Guess who" game around the campfire. Becca was remarking on how "Stupid and pointless" it was, while Shel giggled and chipped in occasionally. _

_"You know, the way they act. You wouldn't think we'd been surviving this shit for over a year now" Russell said, Vince knew the younger man had trailed his gaze, Vince's eyes were locked on the happy group he had helped to lead. _

_"Yeah, I think something's wrong with them. Up here" Vince pointed at his messy mane of black hair and poked at it twice. Russell let out a grunt of a laugh, but Vince had broken through his moody demeanour, he could make Russell laugh, even if no one else could._

_"Maybe... maybe you actually do a good job" Russell dared to say, as Vince stood up and made a dramatic gasp._

_"Oh My God! Russell, a compliant!?" Vince asked dramatically, as Russell's lips twitched upwards into a small smile._

_"Yeah... just a small compliant Vince. Their happy because you're a good leader, you give a direction, you keep us together man. Just don't stop being a good leader okay? Because I don't want to die soon" Russell informed him, as Vince muttered a short "Thanks" in return, before running over to the camp and informing the group on how Russell had actually given him a compliment.  
_

_Happy times._

Just don't stop being a good leader.

Vince wiped a sheen of sweat from his brow, those words ringing in his head as he placed one foot in front of the other, leading the large group he had behind him, into the black wilderness ahead of them all. The strong winter gales only chilled parts of Vince's exposed skin, the wind was made worse by the fact it was funnelled through so many pine trees and the looming mountains on the horizon.

There was some general chit chatter going on behind him, that Vince didn't really listen too. His eyes were fixed on the Long Road Ahead, determined to prove Russell right. Determined to prove that he was a good leader. Although he didn't show it, he knew he wasn't doing a good job at the moment. Stephanie had made her point very clear to him... but he couldn't let the opinion of one person bring him down.

But did he always yell at people? He only did that to Nick and Eddie to maintain some control. In this situation the group needed some control, they needed to keep calm. Thanks to the likes of Nick, Stephanie, Kenny, Sarita, Arvo and Christa he was now in this perilous position. They had got him into this mess, and they expected him to be a better leader? The thought made Vince's blood boil.

"Hey" Kelly said, walking up alongside Vince. Staring at his girlfriend and then back to the group (the closest being Bonnie, who was still out of earshot) he deduced that, him and his girlfriend could have a private conversation.

"Thanks for having my back" Vince told her, as Kelly sighed and ran her fingers through her jet black hair.

"I don't know Vince, obviously I had to back you up. But..." she looked back at the group before she spoke again.

"It wasn't right. We shouldn't have done it"

Vince didn't telling this twice, he looked ahead of him again, as the silence between the pair grew, Kelly felt inclined to speak up once again.

"Vince, if something happens to Luke..."

"It won't! Look Kelly his doing a lot better now. He has Clem, his laughing and smiling. I know that framing him for rape is wrong... but because his no longer leader his more relaxed! In a weird way I think I've helped the guy! We all knew he needed his big break, I've given him that!" Vince argued, his face beet red, Kelly (rather frightened by this) remained silent and her eyes found the rocky ground below her. Vince realised how much of a asshole he was being, almost instantly.

"I'm sorry" he said, as Kelly looked up at him again, before he continued "I just... the fact Luke's might be getting better, is the only comforting thought I have right now" he gestured at the dirt path ahead of him, which was starting to slope upwards as they reached the slopes of the mountains.

"Vince, a rape accusation doesn't just go away in a night" Kelly snapped at him, gaining some confidence of her own.

"I know that!" Vince growled back, as Kelly shook her head.

"No, you don't. This-is-serious-Vince! Rapists are the lowest of the low and the fact we supposedly have one with us, giving a 12 year old girl a piggyback ride... somebody is going to speak up..." Kelly was saying all this, as Vince felt his temper growing.

"They won't! And if they do, I'll make sure they won't hurt Luke..."

"You were the one that just told him, that they should have left his rapist ass behind!"

"and you screamed bloody mary! that he raped you!"

"To keep us this act! Too protect you! Did you ever think of that Vince!? Do you even love me!? Or do you love power more!?"

Vince suddenly found himself stunted by the question, as he gazed at his girlfriend in shock, she looked hurt as the question came tumbling out of her mouth. He _did_ love her. But after everything he had made Kelly go through, so he could become leader... a small part of him screamed the truth at him. He did indeed love power, more than loved his girlfriend.

"I love you more Kelly. I promise you that" Vince lied, convincing himself that this was the truth. But he felt their love was becoming more and more one sided.

Admittedly their sex life wasn't as good as it once was, Vince spent more time discussing matters with the group rather than spend his time with Kelly. She didn't fill his stomach with butterflies like she did when they first met... in all honesty he was drifting apart from her. But he would keep her by his side, it enhanced his image of being a good leader, to have a stable and loyal girlfriend by his side. He had a man's needs and she helped fulfil them, but he didn't love her like that.

Not any more. The stress of the situation was getting to him.

Kelly locked her smaller hand in his larger one and muttered "I love you too Vince, but if something does happen to Luke. Or if someone hurts him. We have to come clean, if you don't. Then I will" she warned him. Vince sighed, leading this large group was different to leading the smaller group at the camp.

Shel, Russell and Becca. They were gone now. Bonnie and Wyatt were still here and still had faith in him as a good leader.

He promised he'd protect Russell and be a good leader. Well, he had failed to protect Russell and whose to say he would uphold his second promise? Being a good leader... it happened to everyone. The pressure got to them.

Lilly snapped, Carver snapped, Luke "snapped" (well he was "snapping", before Vince had him removed from power, so in many ways, he had saved him) and where was Vince? Where was Vince after merely a night of being leader?

Snapping.

* * *

"Let's make camp here for the night!" Vince exclaimed back to the group at large, pointing to a small grassy clearing at the side of the dirt path, eroded rocks that had fallen from the mountains above dotted the small clearing, as some of the wounded limped over to these rocks and managed to sit down on their somewhat smooth surfaces, others got to work on getting their sleeping bags out.

"Couldn't we bring tents along?" Sarah whined to Stephanie as the raven haired woman, helped the jittery teenager into her sleeping bag.

"Would have taken up too much room. Besides if something happens we need to flee fast, we wouldn't have time to pack the tents and then unpack them and then set then up again..." she explained to Sarah who nodded.

"Oh okay, and we were originally meant to be staying in the truck anyway. So we wouldn't have needed tents" Sarah concluded, Stephanie's face fell when Sarah mentioned the word "truck" her expression must have changed fast. Because even a naive Sarah picked up on the problem instantly.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Just so you know... It wasn't your fault. You just panicked when you saw Nick get shot. I panicked too" She admitted, as Stephanie smiled at her.

"That's very sweet of you Sarah, I know I shouldn't have tried to run away. But... like you said, I just panicked and I did a stupid thing"

"I did stupid things too, when I panicked" Sarah recalled sadly, thinking of her father who was ripped to pieces in front of her, because she had failed to do a damn thing, because she had panicked...

"Anyway, you get some rest. You're going to need it" Stephanie told her as casually as possible, she patted Sarah on the shoulder twice, Stephanie gulped as she felt awkward doing such an act. To her surprise Sarah didn't seem to jump back or look up at her oddly, she simply muttered "Night!" cheerfully before curling up into a fetal position in her sleeping bag.

"Night" Stephanie muttered back, she passed Vince (who was on taking the first shift on guard) and walked over to where Nick sat perched on the rock, he was observing Stephanie with a little smile playing on his face.

"See, how hard was that?" he muttered. (He had encouraged a reluctant Stephanie to talk to Sarah earlier)

"She is truly something. I know if I saw someone I cared about get shot, I wouldn't sleep as comfortably as she is tonight" Stephanie observed, keeping a close eye on where Sarah was already dozing peacefully.

"She's a fighter, she may not look or act like it. But she is..." Nick trailed off, as he tried to lower himself of the rock and into his own sleeping bag, which was near enough to Sarah's, yet he winced in pain, spasms of pain shot up his stomach. The young man gritted his teeth and tried hard to look tough in front of Stephanie, the act failed almost instantly, when he gasped out loud in pain and a cold sweat broke out across his skin.

"You struggling there big guy?" she asked of him.

"I'm fine" was his trademark response, (he blamed Luke for this) yet Stephanie could see right through his act, she wrapped her own arms around his torso and muttered "Here, let me help you, or we'll be here till Christmas" as she slowly helped lower him into his sleeping bag.

"What about you? You're hurt as well" Nick pointed out.

"I'm okay" Stephanie lied, yet Nick's weight on her, caused her injures she gained in the truck crash to prickle in pain and her limbs to ache. So when he finally laid down in his sleeping bag, it was safe to say both of them were relieved.

"Thanks" Nick said quietly.

"No problem, get some rest. The road gets steeper tomorrow" she informed him as Nick groaned.

"Joy" he mumbled.

Stephanie laughed, the group around them were settling down. After everything that happened today... she wanted to end her day on a plus note. So much so she leant down and gave Nick a quick kiss on the cheek. Before pulling away, her face burning. It was good thing it was dark, she didn't want Nick to see her like this.

"Just thought the big boy needed his good night kiss, I know you get scared of the dark" she teased.

"Get on out of here" Nick mused back, before the two wished each other a proper goodnight.

Stephanie lay down. That morning she had woken up with plans to leave the group, she had seen the cult in full, she had watched chaos unfold around her. She had tried to steal the truck and crashed it. She had argued her cause afterwards, through all the madness of a single day she should have been having nightmares on one of the several horrors thrown her way...yet she slept that night peacefully. Thinking of Nick...

Nick didn't wipe his cheek, as he looked up at the starry sky. In a daze, like Stephanie he had seen a multitude of horrors that day, he had been shot himself, he had seen the cult, he watched Randy and Patricia die... and yet he was. On the slope of the mountain, thinking of Stephanie...

Lilly looked on sadly, she was happy for Nick and Stephanie and could see the two were slowly becoming an item. But that didn't change the fact she had started to develop feelings for Nick. Nick probably only saw her as a mother figure, but there wasn't a massive age gap between them. Nick had killed Natasha to save her in the same way, she had killed Vitali to protect him.

As she was called out on the second guard (using a knife to impale the skull of a lone walker that stumbled from the treeline) she realised that upon looking down at the walker she had just killed. That she had a job to do. She had to protect the group and not just a single person. That's where the Russians went wrong, that's where Kenny and Sarita went wrong. They were selfish, they only thought about protecting one another. Lilly on the other hand was willing and able to protect and save everyone (even Kenny, who she despised) to keep the group together.

Yes it hurt her inside, into turned her into an unlike-able, bossy and grumpy woman. But she felt prouder of herself for dealing with all of her hurt and heartbreak in silence, rather than run up to Nick and confess her feelings to him.

She chose duty over love.

And she still had her late father's words to encourage her.

_"MY GIRL'S GOT MORE BALLS THAN ALL OF YOU COMBINED!" _

Lilly smiled at the group in general, almost imaging the phantom form of her father yelling that at everyone who would listen and in a way she had to agree with him. She knew Larry would be proud of her at the moment.

And maybe... maybe Lee was too.

* * *

"Clem..."

Clementine was curled into herself, Gill's note and the "Clementine" itself held tightly in her small hands which she placed by her small chest. Her thoughts trained on her dead friend. She had gained him and lost him and the Russians had been slaughtered and shot down just as they had done last time. She didn't know whether or not too feel happy that they were on the move and on the way to Wellington. Or sad that the stable store of Howe's had been left behind and that they could have been wiped out instantly out here...

"Clem..."

Her name was being called out to her once again, nervously she peered up in her sleeping bag to see who wanted her company. Lilly was on guard, everyone was huddled together in their sleeping bags. It as freezing (but then again, they couldn't risk a fire. Not with the cult chasing them and walkers all around. Light would draw unwanted attention) so Clementine had squint through the black night to see who was still awake and whispering her name.

Bonnie and Mike were awake, having some sort of hissed argument with each other, Clementine rubbed her eyes and found Luke crouched near to her sleeping bag. No doubt he was the one whispering her name.

"Clem come over here. I need to show you something"

A silent Clementine simply dragged herself out of her sleeping bag and carefully tiptoed over her sleeping allies. Luke was taking her towards the treeline, Clementine felt nervous to wherever the hell Luke was taking her now, but too her relief the walked for a few more seconds before he stopped at the edge of the clearing and sat down, he gestured at Clementine to do the same, confused, she did so.

"What's this all about?" she asked of him.

"Your birthday present Clem" he announced, somewhat happily. Clementine looked around her, the only thing she could see were the sleeping group in front of her.

"Where is it?" she asked after a minute of confused silence.

"This is your present dummy. Look at the group here. Their peaceful and their alive. This is what you created Clem. I know you're still sad about Gill, but I don't want you to blame yourself, just take a look around here and tell me you didn't do a good job" Luke said to her, as Clementine looked on. Knowing full well Luke had gotten this tactic, from what she did to him weeks back, by having him simply relax on the roof and look up at the sky. The fact Luke remembered such things and was now helping her... well, it went to show how strong a bond they had developed.

"What _we_ created Luke. Not just me" Clementine reminded him. Luke didn't deny it, but he didn't speak up either, as the two sat, (leant up against a tree) in silence for a little while along. Until Luke's stomach rumbled loudly, Clementine automatically felt herself peeling the skin from the orange she had in her hands.

"Here" she said holding up to Luke.

He blinked and gazed at the small Clementine, before he shook his head "Nah, Clem. I can't accept this"

"We'll share it. Come on Luke. Eat something. I know you need it" She ordered him. Luke finally seemed to give into his hunger, as he munched away on half the orange that Clementine had given him. She ate her's at the same pace as Luke, she was pretty hungry herself and they hadn't eaten for all day (then again considering everything that had happened, eating was the last thing on their minds).

Filling their stomach's with something, Luke finally started to speak.

"I miss Jane" he muttered simply.

"She's up there Luke. She's watching over you" Clementine responded, pointing at one of the stars above her. The night sky seemed bursting with stars tonight, and soon Clementine's eyes became lost in the wonders of the galaxy and space above her.

"Like the heavens hey?" Luke asked her, as she nodded "I tell you, my daddy always used to tell me. Luke, every star in the sky is someone looking down at you. I know it sounds corny Clem, but it's what I like to think. That their up there... everyone we've lost..." his voice trailed off. As Clementine found herself agreeing with him.

"If the stars are all people. Then there's a lot of them looking down at us" Clementine observed.

"Yeah, nosy bastards" Luke joked, as Clementine felt herself laugh along with Luke. After all that had happened today... she was glad Luke had given her the piggyback ride and now this, it was helping her to recover from the trauma she had witnessed lately.

"I just wanted to hold Jane again. That's why I did what I did with Kelly. It wasn't rape Clem, they framed me. I just wanted too see her again... or even pretend it was her..." Luke words came so suddenly, Clementine knew he had bottled up these feelings for the day, and was now desperate to get them off his chest. He wanted reassurance, he wanted to know that at least somebody had his back, and Clementine certainly did. She didn't believe Vince or Kelly the minute they had accused Luke of rape.

She knew him too well. He knew he was capable of going off with Jane or Kelly and... well "making it" but Luke would never force them into it.

"I believe you Luke. I know you'd never do anything like that. I don't know why Vince has to lie" she told him. As Luke's smile lit up the whole night.

"Thanks Clem. Vince just wanted to be leader and... yeah he took advantage of my weakness. Look, It's okay if you're suspicious of me..."

"I'm not..." Clementine tried to say to no avail.

"But I don't want you to be scared of me or anything. Back when we had to make that choice about whether to stay or go a month back. I remember looking into your eyes Clem, and I knew you were scared of me. I don't want that, you're probably one of the only friends I have left... I want you, to be you. To be the bright little badass I know you are" he mused, as patted Clementine's cap.

Before Clementine could reply, Christa suddenly seemed to step onto the scene.

"What's going on here? Clementine are you okay?" she asked in rapid succession. Clementine looked up, "Everything's fine" she responded, not liking the way Christa held onto her rifle so tightly with her remaining hand, or how she glared at Luke suspiciously.

"Were just talking" Luke growled at the tall woman.

Christa looked at them both... nothing fishy seemed to be going on...

"Just curious, that's all" she concluded, before she bid them a goodnight which Clementine returned. Luke remained silent however, as Christa walked off. Clementine was Luke's biggest fan, they were friends.

Friends. She was 12. He was 27. The others may have seen Luke as a rapist and in a way he could accept that, because Vince had played a clever game.

But, he drew the line if the word _"paedophile"_ was thrown at him.

* * *

Arvo couldn't get any guns.

So he tried plucking off some poisonous looking berries from the wild bushes around him, as he stuffed them into his pockets. All he needed was to mix these in with Nick's food and maybe he'd get lucky. Maybe Nick would kneel over and die, hence his sister and friend would be avenged, he could spread his poison to Lilly while he was at it. Then he would protect Sarah. Nick and Lilly, they were killers, they were leading her down a dark road.

Arvo wanted to save Sarah from them.

He went to pluck the next berry from the prickly bush in front of him...

"It ain't worth it kid"

Arvo turned on his heel to find Mike gazing at him. The strong African american man didn't look mad, he simply looked sorry for the nervous teenager. Arvo knew his hands were full of berries, his pockets were bugling with berries, the game was up.

"Please, you understand. Let me kill Nick" Arvo begged dropping the berries onto the ground.

"No, I know Nick killed your sister. But this won't solve anything" Mike told the teenager, as he approached him slowly.

"Shut up! You don't know what you are saying!" Arvo shouted, trying to back away from him, but his shoes got caught on the tangled undergrowth below him and he struggled to move his feet...

"You're not thinking straight Arvo. Look, I feel sorry for you man, losing your whole group like that... I just want you too know... were not all horrible people. Were still willing to welcome you and Christa into the group. But you've got to think about it! You wanted to stay in the group! You wanted Vitali and the others to stop fighting! If you end up killing Nick now... they'll kill you!" Mike shouted trying to make his point clear.

"I don't care anymore" Arvo muttered darkly.

"I know you do Arvo, what about Christa? She needs you. and Sarah, you are good friends with her? She wants you around... c'mon man. But down the berries and think about it" Mike begged of him, as Arvo began to falter... he was starting to like Mike more and more. He seemed very kind, but... could he trust Mike?

"Can I trust you not to tell anyone?" Arvo begged of him, his lower lip trembling. Mike was going to kill him, this was it. He was tall and strong and would crush Arvo like a bug. Mike was standing right next to him now...

"I promise you, now get some sleep Arvo" Mike told him, placing a steady hand on Arvo's shaking shoulder. The teenager dared to look up, Mike was giving him a warm smile and not one filled with malice, Mike really did care...

Without any warning Arvo felt himself begin to cry, the tears spilling out from behind his glasses, as he slowly wept onto Mike's shoulders.

"It's alright Arvo. Come on, I'll lead you back to your sleeping bag" came a new voice. Mike turned around to find Christa emerge on the scene. He knew instantly that she had been listening the whole time. But Mike didn't really care, she wasn't going to tell on Arvo, as she was in the same position. The tall woman gently helped Arvo along as the pair of them made their way back towards the clearing. Mike stood there in the trees, finally glad to have done something...

He and Bonnie had been arguing again. Mike had seen Arvo walk away from the group and knew he was up to no good. Mike said he was going to go help him. Bonnie argued back that if they got in the way, it could lead to more trouble. Mike had hissed some horrible things at her, they had to act. and she continued to sit there and watch... he wasn't like that. Not any more. Bonnie was too damn cautious and it was starting to grate on Mike, he was getting tired of sitting around and simply watching his group go to hell.

He was getting tired of Bonnie.

He was about to make his way back to the clearing, to maybe apologise to Bonnie for what he had said earlier, but he bumped into Christa once again.

"I just wanted to thank you for calming Arvo down. I'm useless with him" Christa told him, Mike looked down at her (being one of the few people who was taller than Christa) and muttered "Wasn't anything much really, just wanted to help"

"Well you helped me a great deal. I don't know how to thank you enough" she said, smiling shyly at him. Mike suddenly felt himself gulping uncomfortably as he gazed at Christa's stump of a hand.

"I'm sorry that... that Bonnie did that too you" he told her.

"She already apologised, but still... I heard you two arguing earlier. You were right Mike, it was time to take action. Bonnie's too scared to act, only time she does act is when she blows off my hand. Bitch..." Christa spat, as Mike remained silent. Christa didn't look the slightest bit remorseful for what she had said, right in front of Bonnie's boyfriend as well. Yet Mike didn't rush to Bonnie's defence as he thought he would.

"I... I..." Mike muttered, unsure of what to say or do. Christa eyes suddenly locked with his own.

"Mike. I always had my eye on you. You're kind..." she took a step towards, him as Mike found his path out of this was blocked by a tree, "You're strong" she said, approaching him ever closer, as Mike remained frozen in place.

"And right now, you have absolutely no interest in Bonnie at all. Do you?" She said, leaning into Mike's face...

"no! Christa you're not thinking straight!" Mike tried to exclaim, but she merely laughed.

"It's been ages since I last... I miss it. I miss Omid, I miss everything that could have been..." she told him, a few tears now sliding down from her cheeks, Mike didn't know what on earth propelled him to do it. Or how on earth it had happened, but it was pitch black, he despised Bonnie... she looked ugly to him as it happened. He wanted Christa, so when Mike forcefully kissed her back, he could only think one thought "I'm only trying to help..."

Christa fell onto the undergrowth, peeling her hoodie off, as Mike lunged for her, coiling his strong arms around her waist, as she groaned in pleasure. Christa moved her legs wildly, as slowly but surely Mike's pants and trousers came down... Christa now had to try and muffle her moaning, so no walkers (or any members of the group could hear them) the night as freezing, but Mike had never felt so hot... as sweat drenched his exposed skin. Christa used her remaining hand to caress the growing stubble on Mike's face, while her stump of a hand trailed down Mike's back...

"You'll help me look after Arvo now. Or Bonnie will hear about this" Christa whispered into Mike's ear, he should have been surprised or shocked, but he wasn't. He was too busy enjoying himself... this gave him much more pleasure than he had felt with Bonnie recently...

"I'll take care of you" Mike panted back.

He had made his move. Away from Bonnie.


	18. Moving Up In The World

**A/N: Thanks a bunch you guys for your continued support (P.S. AquaDestinysEmbrace and Rebloxic I think you're going to like this chapter) and also asking, has anyone got any good fanart of Nick/Sarah? Because I was thinking of changing the cover image of No Going Back? to those two or something like that (as they were a big part of the story) if anyone also has fanart of anything cool I'd love to see it, (as I'm a terrible drawer and stick to writing) anyway onto answering reviews! **

**emilyrose272- Thank you for your kind words! I'm glad you think I'm handling Christa realistically, as her character can be complex to handle sometimes.**

**Transformers g1's-prime- My favourite? I'd probably see Season 5 Episode 1, because I loved how it was all handled, how everyone got their time to shine and badass carol and the reunion between Rick, Carl and Judith and how well the group works together. Either that episode or the season two finale. **

**I would make Daryl a bit more human, maybe have him lose a limb (even if minor) to show that he can be killed at any moment. I liked Daryl in the earlier seasons as he was the lone wolf badass, but now he simply seems to be doing badass things for the sake of fan-service. So I'd give the others a chance to shine and maybe even have Daryl screw up something, to remind us all he is human and has flaws. **

**Decisions? I left in the day, I saved Shawn over Duck. I saved Carley over Doug. In episode 2, I gave Mark the axe, I fed him Duck, Larry and Clementine, I did not shoot Jolene, I remained silent when it came to killing Larry or helping him, I killed Danny but spared Andy and I didn't steal from the station wagon. In episode 3 I let Lilly come with us, I tried to talk Kenny down, I saved Christa over Omid. In episode 4, I killed the boy in the attic, I let Clementine come to Crawford with us, I confronted Molly over her past and I saved Ben. And had all the remaining group come with me. In episode 5 I cut off Lee's arm, I threw the statue thing at Kenny. I had Clementine kill the stranger and had shot to prevent him from turning.**

**In 400 days I saved Justin, I left Eddie behind, I stuck with Nate, I killed Dee and left Leland behind, and I spared the man and left in the RV. **

**Season 2 wise, I distracted the scavengers, Killed Sam, blackmailed Alvin, chose to be friends with Sarah, accepted Nick's apology and saved Nick over Pete (I gave the dying man water) episode 2, I persuaded Nick to come with me, I took the blame for the photo, I was on Nick's side when he got criticised, I sat with Kenny at dinner, I saved Nick (but not Alvin) and I surrendered rather than find Kenny and Luke. In episode 3 I helped Sarah, I ran forward to help Kenny, I trusted Bonnie, and I cut off Sarita's arm. Episode 4 wise I turned into a scumbag, I left Sarah behind, stole from Arvo, I didn't hold the baby and I shot Rebecca. In episode 5 I dived for cover, I went to save Luke, I tried to reason with Mike and go with him, I shot Kenny but then left Jane behind and ended up alone. So yeah... and for the last question the answer would be yes.**

**ffapathy- Thanks for another great review, and at the end there about Bonnie "taking action" for some reason it made me laugh.**

**Chameishida- Good luck on drawing a relationship chart, even I forget who's with who sometimes, on the other hand thanks for your review! always nice to hear your thoughts**

**Walking Jess- Glad you like the shipping's and story so far! and the fact that Kelly is redeemable (Vince doesn't seem to be though) **

**Rebloxic- WOO! I got a 10! Thank you very much!**

**Emily Carver- Glad to see some love for Luke and Clem from you, as the sibling relationship in this story is seemingly working very well.**

**and thanks the rest of you! Now on with the chapter!**

* * *

The morning sun rose in the east, however none of the current survivors on the run from a murderous cult felt it's warmth. As the sun was hidden behind the massive mass or rocks that the mountains in front of them were. In the shade of the mountains, it was still freezing for the majority of the group, who awoke shivering and rubbing their arms to try and generate some friction and warmth.

"Okay everyone, we got a long walk ahead of us today!" Vince informed the groaning group. Who stretched their stiff clothing as they tried to wake themselves from their slumbers. Vince paced amongst everyone as they prepared themselves, (Eddie shrinking in his shadow) as Vince tried to ensure everyone was in place and that nothing was going wrong... everything seemed fine...

The group opened their backpacks to riffle through some crackers and beans, these rations passed for "breakfast" and they had a lot of food to last (mainly thanks to the greenhouse back at Howe's Hardware). Rebecca managed to crush the beans in her hands and feed the mushy mess to Alvin. Who ate it without much complaint, in fact after a while he gurgled happily as Rebecca filled her son's small stomach.

"You like that? Yes you do... that's it! That's a good boy!" Rebecca chimed, cheering on her obedient son as he ate his breakfast.

"He has grown bigger" came a familiar voice. One Rebecca didn't want to hear right now.

"Yes he has. Not that you care" Rebecca told the owner of the voice, as she turned around to find a glum looking Sarita and Kenny gazing at her and Alvin. Rebecca pulled Alvin closer to her chest, Alvin was oddly quiet, even at this young age he seemed to be quickly developing the skill to detect tension in the air, as such the baby went as silent as a stone.

"We wanted to apologise..." a downtrodden Sarita told Rebecca.

"Save it. I don't want to hear it" Rebecca snapped. Her faith in the group had been shaken greatly after learning of Kenny and Sarita's betrayal... people she thought she could trust...

"We know what we did, was horrible..." Kenny muttered.

"Damn right it was horrible!" Rebecca responded with sass.

This seemed to shut Kenny and Sarita up, as Kenny shuffled uncomfortably and Sarita store at the shoots of grass between her shoes. Rebecca decided to speak up...

"You think coming over here and simply apologising makes it all okay? It' doesn't. It doesn't bring Randy, Patricia or Gill back! Do you remember how good a friend Patricia was to us Sarita? Randy too... and what about little Gill? He was such an imaginative child..."

"Stop this!" Sarita begged, her remaining hand pressed flat against her forehead, as she tried to breathe deep and control her emotions...

"... that innocent family is dead because of you, as well as that you also chose your lives above that of a innocent baby!" Rebecca carried on, ignoring Sarita's plea and tearing the couple in front of her eyes to pieces. Sarita's lip started to wobble, but Kenny lost his (very naturally) thin patience.

"GOD DAMMIT WE WERE THINKING ABOUT OUR CHILD MORE THAN OURSELVES!" Kenny exploded, this averted heads to him.

"YOU GOT A FAMILY KILLED! WAS IT REALLY WORTH GOING TO THOSE LENGTHS TO SAVE _YOUR_ FAMILY!?" Rebecca screeched back.

"WHAT THE HELL ELSE WERE WE MEANT TO DO!? HUH!?" Kenny demanded of Rebecca.

"I DON'T KNOW!? NEGOTIATE WITH RANDY MAYBE AND NOT SHOOT HIM!?"

"HE COULD HAVE SHOT SARITA!"

"BUT HE DIDN'T!"

"GUYS SERIOUSLY!" Vince bellowed, butting into the argument in his loudest tone. Yet this didn't have seem to have any effect.

"DON'T ACT ALL HIGH AND MIGHTY REBECCA, WE KNOW YOU'D HAVE DONE THE SAME HAD IT BEEN AJ IN THAT POSITION!" Kenny roared.

Rebecca was going to scream a reply, but she suddenly found out that she couldn't... because she questioned her morales herself? She had killed others to protect her son in the past (as Tavia had found out the hard way) but Tavia and that weren't' people she trusted in the first place. Gill, Patricia and Randy were people she knew she could trust, she wouldn't have shot them... but then again she also trusted Sarita and Kenny.

They had betrayed her trust, stolen meds that could have possibly been lethal for her son, Kenny and Sarita were changing, people in the group in general were changing and not for the better. Rebecca didn't stop glaring at Kenny, but (internally) she was thinking hard about what Kenny had said. What length would she go to, to protect Alvin? Would she kill friends? Would she kill innocent people?

"We thought, as you were a mother, you would understand us. That you could forgive us. Our baby needs a friend in little Alvin" Sarita mumbled to Rebecca sadly.

Rebecca didn't know what to say, she was never good at comforting adults. She could comfort kids (Clementine, Sarah or Alvin) but with adults she was naturally frosty, she did feel a spike of sympathy for Sarita at that moment, but she couldn't express it.

"Fine, just take these if you don't forgive us!" Kenny snapped, chucking some medical supplies at Rebecca's feet, before him and Sarita slowly set off back towards the main group.

"You'd think with how much we've been hollerin' every walker in Virginia would be chasing us" Bonnie commented, as Rebecca used her free hand to slowly scoop up the meds for Alvin at her feet, as she did Bonnie felt inclined to ask her "You okay?"

"I'm fine" Rebecca responded (she blamed being around Luke too long, to give this response)

"Well it looks like the party is finally starting to arrive Bonnie" Lilly noted, as the first of several rotting walkers began to emerge from the treeline.

"Guess it's time to move!" Vince yelled matter of factly (when it was obvious to everyone) the group began to jog along the thinning dirt path. Rebecca struggled to follow the fleeting figures of the group with the meds spilling out of her hands... as well as her heavy son in her arms who had began to wail... drawing the walkers even closer to her...

Looking back Eddie saw that Rebecca was struggling, he nervously decided to go back to the struggling mother.

"Hey... you erm... need a hand?" he asked her nervously, after hearing her go off and Kenny and Sarita he expected a similar reply, (as he had made the biggest screw-up) yet Rebecca simply loaded the meds she had into Eddie's hands.

"Hold these" she instructed before running along after the group, Eddie hot on her heels.

Rebecca remembered when the whole of the group held her newborn son. Back then she had trusted them all... she wished there was someone she could still say she trusted... so in case something happened to her, her son would be in good hands. Yet at the moment she kept Alvin close to her chest...

Eddie stayed at the rear of the group, after last night he didn't want to be seen... he knew he had screwed up and he felt bad about it. He knew helping Rebecca along wasn't something that would redeem him in the eyes of the group.

Yet, all he wanted to do was help...

* * *

The hours passed slowly, the group finding it more an more difficult to climb up the increasingly vertical dirt path in front of them.

"You're strugglin' aren't you?" Luke asked Clementine, as he raised a bushy black eyebrow at her "I'm okay" which didn't sound too convincing, as a sheen of sweat coated her face and her lungs felt like they were about to burst.

"Here" Luke said, scooping up Clementine, and planting the 12 year old on his broad back. Clementine's aching legs felt eased and she couldn't complain much, as she simply let Luke carry her up this steep road. He may have lost some of his bulk, but he was still one of the most (or probably _the_ most) athletic member of the group. When the others stopped for breaks throughout the day, he simply store at the ground, waiting to get going once again. Maybe he wasn't the best of mind, but certainly the best of body.

"How much further man?" Wyatt asked of Vince, sweat soaked through layers of the blonde man's clothing, as he tried to cool his red face.

"Well, we've barely climbed a quarter of this mountain, so we've got still got a long walk ahead of us, enjoy it!" Vince told Wyatt in a mock cheery voice. In response to this Wyatt simply lifted his middle finger at Vince and groaned to the sky. " . . ."

"At least you're not carrying a baby" Rebecca gasped, laying Alvin carefully on a log next to her, as she rested her numb arms.

"I might as well be carrying three" Wyatt said grumpily, indicating his somewhat large stomach, as Rebecca laughed at his comment, even now they had time for humour. and speaking of humour...

Eddie was laid against a tree, trying to keep out of sight. So when he felt someone's shadow loom over him, he opened his eyes in surprise expecting some criticism to fly his way, but it was only Rebecca who was holding AJ close to her.

"Hey. I just wanted to thank you for carrying Alvin's meds" she said sitting down next to him. Eddie wasn't expecting a thank you, and certainly made his thoughts clear.

"A thank you? Really? After all I did" he commented miserably, gazing at his hands.

"It was an accident, you didn't do it on purpose like Sarita, you just screwed up. Everyone does. Clem and Luke made that point clear, I know you're good guy Eddie" Rebecca told him, as Eddie seemed reluctant to praise himself in front of her, so he simply remained silent.

"You're a good guy, but there's no denying you're stupid and stupid is going to get you and us killed out here" Rebecca added, as Eddie simply managed to mutter "Yeah, I figured, it doesn't mean much but..."

"So I want you to learn to take some responsibility" Rebecca cut through a babbling Eddie, as she held a sleeping Alvin close to the bearded man, Eddie looked from AJ to Rebecca and then back again.

"You want me too...?" he left Rebecca to fill in the gap, he was confused himself, as to what he was meant to be doing.

"Jesus, you really are dumb-ass... I want you to carry Alvin, to look after him" Rebecca told him sternly, as Eddie instantly denied this request.

"No, no, no, no! N-O with a capital N! You can't trust me to carry a baby! After what I did...!" Eddie began to exclaim.

"No I don't trust you to look after Alvin, that's why you're going to have to learn. With the group falling apart the way it is, you're one of the only people left here who I know I can trust. You're stupid without a shadow of a doubt, but if something happens to me... then I know Alvin is in good hands..."

"My hands are pretty dirty considering... a lot... you know... stuff..." Eddie trailed to a halt, as Rebecca lowered the warm bundle that was her infant son into Eddie's arms. Eddie held the child uncertainly, sure he had pulled faces back at the store to make Rebecca's son, babble happily... but holding him and looking after him, it was another story.

"What if I end up killing him, or something!?" Eddie exclaimed in panic to Rebecca. Alvin was asleep for now, so Eddie found it easier to hold him. Rebecca flashed Eddie a deadly serious look.

"I want to trust people Eddie. What Kenny and Sarita did... I sometimes think I'll end up like them, I don't want that. I want Alvin to grow up around good people. Don't get me wrong, I'll protect Alvin with my life, but I need people to have my back. Rather than simply looking out for myself and Alvin... it won't work. Alvin doesn't have a father, not any more. I need to know I can rely on the group... and if you do fail me Eddie... then let's just say you'd die".

She left Eddie there, as she went over to rest her aching limbs. Eddie as worried now and he panicked easily under pressure, he understood what Rebecca was trying to do. But he doubted whether he was the man able to do it.

"Hey, who'd you knock up?" Wyatt asked him, as Eddie stood up and held Alvin close to his chest.

"Dude, shut the fuck up" Eddie snapped back, as Wyatt chuckled at the sight of a disgruntled Eddie holding a baby. As Vince yelled to them all that break was over and that they had to move once again.

* * *

"I do not understand why we just can't go around?" Arvo asked, looking up at the sheer rock faces to his sides.

"If the cult are following us, it will be more difficult for them to get to us up here, and it's best chance of losing them" Mike explained to the pale teenager, now that they were ascending higher into the mountains, the terrain was starting to change, tree's were less common as more rocks began to come into place. The air had gotten thinner and colder and climbing was beginning to become a struggle for everyone. Even the likes of Luke and Mike who could keep going long after the others had run out of breath.

Mike and Christa had walked side by side that day, both keeping a close eye on Arvo. The teenager kept quiet and only asked the occasional quiet question, which either Mike or Christa was happy to answer. So far Mike seemed content that Arvo was doing okay... obviously his group's death was still fresh in his mind. But he was coping and he didn't seem like he was going to do anything stupid.

"Spoken like a true expert Mike" Bonnie mused, as Mike dimly acknowledged her comment with a nod. Bonnie's smile began to slowly wipe off her face replaced with that of a frown. Mike and Christa preferred each other's company and had been joking all day, an usually observant Bonnie was surprisingly oblivious to the chemistry between them. Or maybe she didn't want to see what was right in front of her? Arvo didn't respond to her, she doubted a woman she had blown the hand off, would be willing to speak to her. But Mike always spoke to her... she apologised about the argument they had last night. But if that was so, then why did Bonnie feel like...

Like the unwanted third wheel.

Christa and Mike spoke as if she wasn't there, Arvo ignored her. A cheery Bonnie kept up her facade and told them loudly "I'm gonna go check on the others, have fun you guys!" she joked.

"Yeah, you do that" Christa said curtly, as Bonnie went to go talk to Wyatt. Her mood dampened...

"I hate heights" Arvo suddenly piped up, shaking somewhat as they were now high enough to see endless pine trees stretching across the horizon.

"Well I dunno, I like being up high. Doesn't bother me, being on big things" Christa said, as Mike grinned back at her, detecting the sexual innuendo behind her words.

"That's nice to know" he commented simply.

The two laughed at each other, as Arvo rolled his eyes, not knowing what was between them. But Mike was bad at hiding his emotions when he liked someone, or if he panicked... then again...

"HEY, THERE'S A LODGE AHEAD!"

Arvo looked up, his thoughts interrupted as Vince pointed at a small but cosy looking wooden lodge at the side of the dirt track.

* * *

"Okay everyone, let's see if there's any supplies in here. But be careful and be aware. Eddie I swear to God If you shoot someone by mistake I will throttle you, you hear!?" Vince ordered, as Eddie nodded his head and muttered back "Actually I'm holding the baby, so I can't..."

"Well that's a comforting thought" Vince thought to himself, as he slowly crept by the cabin door. The rest of the group hung back, as Vince took a deep breath (determined to prove himself a good leader) as he charged forward and slammed the door to the lodge open.

Nothing. The inside seemed empty.

"All clear in here!" Vince yelled, the small lodge's main corridor had three doors to the right and one to the left, along with stairs leading to a first floor. The group slowly but surely crept into the warm lodge.

"ANYBODY AROUND!?" He yelled.

No response, the group lowered their guns slightly, as Vince ordered a room search, Lilly was on the door nearest to her in an instant, she peered inside what was a small bedroom and scanned her eyes over the room. Empty of people. But something else very odd caught her eye...

"Guys look at this!" she shouted, as the group all funnelled into the small bedroom.

There wasn't any people, but tons of clothes. Creased, dusty clothes but never the less they were clothes ideal for surviving in wintry conditions, thick coats, scarf's, gloves, earmuffs...

"This isn't a coincidence, someone put them here" Lilly guessed instantly.

"Yeah, but we might as well wear em, we'll freeze in our old clothes" Kenny pointed out, in which many people seemed to agree with. The clothes they had on them now, were the only clothes they could afford to carry. They thought they were ready for the winter with these layers... but right now they were freezing. They needed proper winter clothing to make it through the mountains and the upcoming winters.

"Hey! You don't know what people could have done with those!" Lilly yelled, as Kenny lifted one of the coats to his nose and sniffed it, he then licked the thing, as Lilly muttered "Jesus..." and Wyatt asked "Well, any poison smeared on it?"

"No, just a shit ton of dust. We can take these!" Kenny exclaimed delighted.

"And what if it turns out just like the station wagon, huh?"Lilly challenged him.

"We've already got a cult on our asses, I think a few pissed off other survivors aren't our main concern" Kenny told her, already trying to slip into one of the large coats simply laying in the bedroom...

* * *

The rest of the small lodge was as empty as could be. The kitchen area was empty of knives and forks and plates, the bedrooms upstairs were empty of clothes, or sheets, the living area contained a few dusty sofa's. A few old books, but no personal items or photos...

"Whoever lived here, had a massive collection of Dickens' novels" Luke noted, flicking through the dusty volumes, a creamy coloured thick coat now draped over his form, Clementine stood by him. In her own puffy orange jacket (that reminded her a lot of the bright blue she had worn before) Luke had also planted some earmuffs on her, to ensure her ears didn't get cold. Clementine's hat remained on her head, there's no way in hell she'd leave that.

"Looks pretty boring to me" Clementine said discarded a volume back onto it's place on the shelf.

"Shame, you never finished your education Clem" Luke told her.

"Sarah's been helping me to write and read" Clementine reminded him, as Luke nodded, he seemed his stress free self around Clementine. But that was the problem, he only seemed this way around Clementine and no one else. He was getting better now that the stresses of leadership were lifted from his shoulders, Clementine hoped Vince and Kelly would confess their lie soon however. The whole "rape" scenario, was the only problem right now, the longer Vince and Kelly kept it too themselves the angrier Clementine got. She _knew_ Luke was innocent. But the rest of the group were in doubt...

"Yeah, I can't educate you with books and all, but I can teach you have few things" Luke mused, breaking Clementine's train of thought as she looked up at him and crossed her arms, "Like what?" she asked.

"Well, fishing for a start and shooting too, out here It will be great to teach you how to hunt and harvest crops and learn to skin and cook animals..." Luke ticked off, for some strange reason Clementine found herself rather excited by this prospect.

"That sounds cool" She muttered impressed.

"It's not only cool, it will keep you alive" Luke told her back, as the two smiled at each other.

A few doors away, Nick listened in on Luke and Clementine's conversation and smiled to himself. Happy his old friend could find comfort in_ someone. _He still had to speak to Luke, and would have his old friend's back. Rapist? No, Nick couldn't see it. Nick had known him long enough to know Luke (despite the circumstances would ever sink to that).

"Hey, that coat makes you look fat you know?" Stephanie bluntly told Nick. The tall man turned around, as she gestured at his metallic covered blue coat.

"Your's makes you like obese" Nick commented back instantly, gazing (for probably was longer than natural) at the deep coloured purple coat that Stephanie was wearing.

"Aw... I'm gonna cry now. But... alas, at least some of us are happy" Stephanie said, looking at where Luke and Clementine were joking a few feet away from them.

"Yeah, rapist my ass. I trust Vince, but Luke is not a fucking rapist. I've known him 20 years, ain't no way in hell..." Nick argued, as Stephanie nodded.

"Yeah, he doesn't seem like one at all. And trust me, I know what a rapist is" Stephanie recalled, clenching her eyes shut as she remembered Stan and all the bad memories that came with him... shaking her head, she regained herself and looked ahead of her, in fact looking at Luke stirred up another memory for her.

"Hey Nick, I've been meaning to ask you something, but I keep forgetting" She stated.

"Ask away" Nick replied.

"Well, yesterday when the cult arrived, the leader guy or whoever, he was wearing a guy's skin. But when Luke saw the guy... he froze up. I knew Luke knew the guy, but I didn't recognise him. Maybe you do? Because this guy was wearing green, was bald had a beard..."

Nick didn't hear much more after that, his heart hammered in his head, his vision started to blur as Stephanie spoke on. He knew just by the basic description who Stephanie was describing to him and what the cult had done to him.

They had skinned his uncle and wore him like a hunting prize.

Every emotion ran through Nick's mind, Stephanie was shaking him, but he didn't hear anything, confusion, grief, horror, helplessness and anger...

Why hadn't Luke told him?

"EVERYONE PUT YOUR WEAPONS DOWN!"

This seemed to get Nick's attention, Stephanie was trying to hold him upright, as he realised he was sinking against the wall in shock, but this new powerful female voice shot through the small lodge like a bullet, as Nick grasped onto Stephanie's arm and looked up at her.

"What's going on!?" he asked of her.

"I don't know! Someone's at the door...!"

Nick got onto his feet, as the pair of them ran towards the front door, where the whole group was crowded around the front doorway, two newcomers stood by the door.

"PUT YOUR GUNS DOWN!" Vince yelled.

"PUT DOWN YOUR'S RICE LOVER! One of the newcomers shouted back, she appeared to be a somewhat attractive woman in her mid to late twenties, with big brown eyes and sleek black hair. Vince only seemed to become more enraged by the woman's use of the racial slur on his ethnicity.

"SAY THAT AGAIN! AND I'LL BLOW YOUR FUCKING BRAINS OUT!" Vince roared.

"EVERYONE CALM DOWN!" Rebecca yelled.

"You people need to come with us. I'm sorry about Marisol here, she's just like this sometimes, especially when we find new people" the second newcomer said, she seemed more composed than her companion, yet the shock was, that she was so much younger. She had to be 16 at the eldest, with long shaggy brown hair, which was styled over her right eye (she also wore a bandanna to help cover her right eye as well).

"Why should we come with you little girl?" Kenny asked of her, as the younger's girl one displayable eye, narrowed in anger.

"Because all of us are trying to get away from the damn cult. I imagine that's why you're up here too. They drove you out of wherever you were hiding and you scurried up here. It's the same with the rest of us back at camp" the girl explained as Kenny lowered his gun.

"Rest of you?" he asked.

"Yeah, there's about a hundred of us, in a camp not far from here" The other woman (Marisol) decided to say, calming down somewhat.

"and you expect us to believe that?" Lilly snapped.

"Here we go, you're tired, snappy and not trusting of strangers... yada... yada... same story over and over again, I imagine you're trying to get to Wellington as well?" Vince simply nodded as the girl smiled up at him. "Like I said, same story every time. Look." she said as she lowered her gun to the ground and gestured at the other woman to do the same. With both guns on the ground, the older Spanish looking woman spoke up.

"Look, we are not cult members, we have no weapons. All we ask is that you follow us, we need as many people as we can find" Marisol said to them.

"Their unarmed, we have our guns in case something goes wrong and this might be the real deal Vince" Kelly told him, as Vince finally lowered his gun and snapped at the younger girl "and you are!?"

"Anne, thanks for asking" she said back, not too warmly.

"So what are you people doing? Why do you need us there? Why are you trying to recruit people?" Luke asked, as Anne drew in a deep breath...

"The situations' worse than you think. You probably already know it's shit. But when you come back to camp with us, we'll tell you what we know. and why we need so many people with us, now are you coming or not?" Anne asked of them again, as Vince looked back at his silent group.

"I'm not too sure about this" Lilly spoke up.

"It can't kill us to try, I say we at least give it shot" Vince said in conclusion.


	19. Sick Of This

**A/N: Okay I'm going to keep my author's note short this time around (sorry about this, but I will answer your question emilyrose272, Nick and Sarah roles were that of testing your humanity and compassion, Nick in episode 2 and Sarah in episodes 3 and 4. They were unique characters, whose deaths I hated, because it was as if the game itself was telling you to abandon these liabilities and become Jane 2.0, that wasn't the Clementine I wanted. In episode 4 the survivalist choices all felt like the "right" one's and turned my Clem into a scumbag. I know everything isn't as black and white as good and evil, but I didn't want Clementine to become Jane.)**

**Okay, keeping this note short, The OC characters I introduced... there will be a few more this chapter. But expect me to tweak with back stories/appearances etc... as there is a large cast already and I don't want the main cast to be overshadowed by these OC's. So, hopefully you'll enjoy their presence in the story, but the focus will still be on the main group.**

**Right note over, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"Care to tell us a bit more about yourself?"

Anne didn't reply, as she jumped over a small rock, the large group behind her trailing her and Marisol's every move. Vince's inquiry died on his tongue as he gazed back in Kelly in concern, before he turned around and piped up at the mysterious girl in front of him.

"Hey? You just going to give us the silent treatment?" he demanded to know.

"Back off silt eyes, she doesn't have to answer to you" Marisol dryly commented, causing Vince to swell in rage, as the Spanish woman had made another pass at his Asian ethnicity.

"What the hell is your problem!?" Kelly snapped at Marisol, before Vince could shout something very horrible at her.

"Hey, we don't have to be polite to one another. Were like... what? Three years into this shit, things are only going to get shitter. We lost our manners a long time ago, and quite frankly it doesn't bother me, the only thing that matters is staying alive" Marisol lectured.

"You clearly haven't encountered any good people then" Rebecca snapped at her.

"Oh no I have, that's the problem" Marisol muttered, as her gaze found the floor sadly, before she quickly regained herself and stood up straight "We'll be back at camp in a few minutes" she informed the group behind her.

"So... you recruit people by luring them into that lodge with the winter clothes on display?" Lilly asked of Marisol, but it was Anne who finally spoke up.

"Yeah, we set them down and me and Marisol's job is to check up on the lodge to see if anyone's inside. We check once every three to two hours, we find and recruit a lot of survivors this way" Anne explained. The others all listened on silently as she looked back at the group "But we haven't found a group as big as your's, thanks to you people. We won't have to come back to this lodge anymore, we can get to Wellington" Anne added, as interest around the group spiked at a peak.

"Why? Why are you heading off now were here?" Bonnie asked.

"Like I said, we needed numbers. You guys can all move, you're generally young enough, none of your are seriously injured. You're what we need" Anne told her, as Bonnie nodded, accepting this news, as they continued to follow the two women across the barren landscape of the mountain. The evening sun was beginning to descend over the mountain, as a distant howl made Anne freeze up in her tracks and aim her gun upwards.

"Is it the cult!?" Kenny demanded to know looking around nervously, Anne's gun was trained on the treeline, but eventually the young girl put it down.

"No, there are wolves. God knows how many of them are in the woods and around these parts, there as dangerous as the cult and walkers combined, that's why it's always best to stay in a group and to make sure someone has your back. It only takes a bullet to scare them off, as long as you have ammo and a gun, you're safe... but they hunt in packs... so just watch yourself" Anne instructed them, as she decided no wolves were coming out at them, and proceeded onwards.

"At least wolves can't fire back" Sarita muttered.

The group proceeded to walk on in silence for a short while longer, before Sarah of all people decided to ask Anne a very general question.

"Hey, how old are you?"

Anne sighed and flicked her brown hair, before muttering "15..."

"You're 15!" Christa exclaimed in shock, she spoke much more maturely than that and Christa (along with Sarah who exclaimed "Wow! You're younger than me!") was surprised by Anne's youth.

"So they rely on fifteen year old's and racist old Spanish cow's to recruit people?" Vince asked bluntly, causing Marisol to glare at him and she began to mutter some snarl of a response, but Anne quickly spoke over her Spanish friend.

"Alex trusts us to do this. Besides, it's not like he has much choice" she trailed off sadly and clambered over a boulder in her way.

"Alex?" Vince asked.

"Our leader, might I mind asking whose leader of your little group?" Anne asked back, as Vince confidently announced "I am".

Clementine noticed Luke's face fall at this news, she looked up at him with wide sympathetic eyes, Luke acknowledged it with a small smile, but Clementine knew he was nervous in case Anne, Marisol or the rest of the group starting asking more about the group in general and if they were to learn of Luke's "rape..."

"So, where did all of you guys come from?" Anne decided to ask the group in general.

"We were holed up a hardware store a day's drive from here, but the cult arrived, asked us to join their little parade and gave us a few hours to make our decision. We fled in a truck obviously..." Vince explained to her, as she nodded her head to show she understood, but Marisol muttered a "That's strange"

"What is?" Kelly asked.

"Them giving you a grace period to make your choice. Usually they open fire two seconds after you say no" Marisol told them.

"Well, they kinda assumed we would join em. I didn't get a chance to tell em differently" Luke piped up,as Anne glanced back at him in suspicion.

"You told them? you spoke to them? Wouldn't Vince here, be speaking to them if he was leader?" this little fact that Anne had picked up on, made Luke gulp uncomfortably as Vince uttered "Well... it's complicated".

"Hmm... I see you don't have that truck you mentioned earlier either, it must be complicated" Marisol told them in an offhand manner, as she yawned and continued with her slaughter of the group behind her "So... you're already cracking from the inside? great group you're leading here Vincey, maybe you ought to open you eyes a little further and..."

"WILL YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP!?" Vince exploded, as Marisol only deviously grinned at him, as he panted and ranted on "YEAH WE'VE LOST PEOPLE ALRIGHT!? WE'VE ALL DONE SHITTY THINGS WE REGRET, DON'T ACT LIKE FUCKING ROYALTY, I BET YOU'VE DONE THINGS YOU REGRET TOO!" Vince's words made Anne flinch slightly, but Marisol didn't seem bothered in the slightly as she simply got bored "touchy" as Vince piped down, but he still shot daggers at the back of Marisol's sleek black mane of hair.

The group walked on in silence for a bit longer, Anne finally seemed to sigh and decided to bring up conversation once again.

"I can kind of get why your group is the way it is. I don't blame you, at least your group's still together. That cult's trick is fucking horrible, I've seen loads of people lose their minds over it" Anne told them, as most of the group stared at her bewildered.

"What trick?" Kenny finally asked suspiciously, as Anne looked back at them with widened eyes, "You didn't see anyone you knew then?"

Luke froze, he knew exactly what Anne was saying, only Clementine noticed that he had frozen in place and stopped walking for a few seconds, he quickly managed to put one foot in front of the other, but Clementine's suspicion was aroused, she knew Luke far too well, and knew he was hiding something.

"No" Kenny responded, confused as Anne muttered "Well you're lucky then. All the people I was close too, Tess, Emily, Dylan, Chase..." she recounted these names, as she recalled her past sadly, "Shot down right in front of me, a week later I bump into the cult again and their wearing my dead friend's skins. How I ran I didn't know, but..."

"THEY WERE WEARING PEOPLE'S SKINS!" Christa screamed in shock, as disbelief spread over her's (and many other's, faces).

"Yeah" Anne responded, as the group reeled in shock, Nick and Stephanie kept surprisingly sturdy, they both knew this (Nick more so than Stephanie) Nick looked back at Luke. He knew his best friend had seen Pete like this and his reaction was different to the others. He simply store at the rocky floor sadly, as if he had been hit by this news before, the shock of it had made Nick dizzy the first time, now he simply stood tall. His anger at this "cult" growing by the second.

"Were here!" Marisol announced cheerfully, (in a deliberate manner to try and break the shocked stupor around the group behind her) Nick's snapped out of his thoughts and glanced ahead of him, as a large lodge came into view, it must have been about three floors high and dozens of lit windows and scurrying silhouettes across the windows, confirmed that there were indeed a lot of people in there.

"Nice place to crash for the night" Wyatt commented, clearly impressed.

"Yeah. Just follow us when you get in there and... and stick close to us, don't wander off" Anne instructed them, as the others all looked at her. Her usually stern voice was somewhat shaky, as she and Marisol put on the a confident posture and strode forwards, with big steps. The group followed, a bit wary now, as guns were raised slightly from waist level, as their wary eyes were peeled on the building in front of them.

"You know we can't get close to them Anne" Marisol told the younger girl, glancing back at the large group behind them, they were just out of earshot. Anne's eyes softened upon looking at the seemingly "okay" people behind her. Despite her tough demeanour she was still only fifteen years old and what they were about to do... she wasn't comfortable with it. But if any of them wanted to reach Wellington, then they didn't have any choice. It was this, or they'd die at the hands of the cult.

"I know, it's just... God what depths have we sunk too?" Anne moaned, as Marisol simply replied "They might get lucky, you know?"

Anne nodded, still not comfortable with it at all. As she did Marisol gestured at her to put her mask on, reaching into their pockets, the two woman produced some cheap looking plastic face masks and placed the things over their mouths and noses.

"Hey! What's with the masks!?" Kenny shouted.

"Like I said follow us and don't stop to anyone or speak to anyone" Anne managed to mumble through her mask, as she slowly opened the double doors to the lodge and ventured inside, Marisol followed her, as one by one the group filed into the large lodge. Clementine nervously stood close to Luke, as she took a deep breath and entered the lodge...

* * *

Clementine remembered the smell of decomposing walkers, she knew the stench of blood and guts, her nostrils weren't immune from these vile smells, but she had certainly adapted to them. But when she entered the warm lodge the smell that smashed up her nostrils made her retch instantly and made tears form in her eyes, as she coughed and threw her arm flat against her nose and mouth.

"Ah, Jesus... what the fuck..." Luke gagged, following Clementine's lead by covering his face with his arm, no doubt the horrible stench hitting him as well. Clementine couldn't describe this vile smell, it was a mix of decomposing bodies, urine, piles of human excrement, vomit, sweat and God knows what else, looking up she could see why there was such a vile stench.

There were people, lots of people. But they all coughed and wheezed weakly, many of their faces were pale and there were as skinny as can be. Children younger than her with bony faces, stared at her curiously with eyes that seemingly seemed to pop out of their heads. Old men and women simply gazed at the floor, other people lay in rags of blankets and clothes, shivering and shaking on the wooden floor. Some people didn't move at all, and other people lay completely still under layers of blankets...

"What the hell is this!?" Lilly demanded to know, her voice nasal like, as she covered her nose with all her force.

"This is what happens when someone gets flu and there's no meds to stop it" Anne muttered sadly, as she looked around her, no one came up and approached the new group, although several of the sick, looked and pointed at them. Babbling amongst themselves, as an outbreak of chatter began amongst them.

"Their new here! Make room! Make room! Alex needs to see them! Make room!" Marisol yelled rudely, as some of the sick scurried out of her way, leaving a clear path for them. Rebecca covered Alvin's face, wary of how easily her son could catch the flu and how it could be fatal for an infant like him.

"You're out of meds!?" Vince asked of Anne.

"Yep, we used them all up when the first guy here got the flu. Then more people started coming here and our medical supplies just ran out so fast... but I suppose this is what happens when you try and cram so many people in such a small space. Disease spreads, you think the cult and the walkers and each other are threats? What about the natural elements, the wolves and disease... they are bigger killers" Anne told them, as they seemed to be nearing a small room.

"How come you people ain't infected?" Kenny asked.

"We're lucky, but we won't be for much longer. There are so many of the sick we couldn't contain them all in one room, so now their all over the place. Add that to the fact Winter's coming... and yeah" Anne finished lamely, as Marisol opened the door, a single man sat in there. His eyes seemed to widen at the sight of so many new people.

"Holy shit, you actually got some people!" He exclaimed to Marisol, as she rolled her eyes at him.

"Yeah we did Josh, now, if you're not too useless, can you watch them and make sure they don't run off, or cause a riot?" Marisol asked, of the average looking man, who had dull brown hair and eyes.

"Yeah, sure" The man (Josh) seemed to say, adjusting the long leather coat he was wearing, as he peered nervously at the large group that flocked into the small room, as they openly gazed at the nervous looking man. Marisol turned back to Anne, "Come on Anne, let's go tell the rest of em we got the group we need at last" Anne nodded to show that she would follow, as Marisol walked towards the door "Don't kill Josh!" she shouted back at the group, as Josh seemed to smile nervously. Anne gave him (and the group behind him) a smile, before she put her mask back on over her face and closed the door behind her. Leaving the large group with this single man, who looked back at them.

"So... how are you people liking the weather?" he asked to break the tension.

There was no response. The group simply spilt off and began to chat amongst each other, Josh sighed, at least they weren't' giving him trouble, he decided to lean against the door and watch over this new group. Who (thankfully) didn't seem like trouble...

* * *

Luke sat in the corner of the room, Clementine sat next to him, none of them knew what to say.

"Remember when I used to freak out, when someone got a cold?" he suddenly asked.

Clementine had no idea why, but she started laughing and couldn't stop herself, as Luke smiled down at her, no idea why he felt so happy either. Especially after everything he had just seen, with all those poor children and bodies (lying unburied under those blankets, neglected and left to rot) yet Clementine was still here, one of his sole sources of stability.

"Luke. Why didn't you tell me?"

Luke, (rather than look down at Clementine) found himself looking up at a furious looking Nick. Clementine shuffled uncomfortably, as she muttered "What? What is it?" to try and sound naive in this situation, as Luke sighed and ran his hands through his hair, as Nick sat down, his expression still that of a seething fury.

"Luke, they were wearing Pete weren't they?" Nick inquired, as Clementine gasped at this news. She knew Luke was hiding something, but she wasn't expecting this and she didn't know what too feel when Luke seemed to accept defeat and nodded slowly, Nick's expression didn't change.

"How did you find out?" Luke asked.

"That doesn't matter" Nick told him bluntly.

"They were wearing Pete! Why didn't you tell me Luke! Why didn't you tell Nick!?" Clementine demanded of him, she thought they were close, but the fact he kept this from her... it made her slightly angry with him. As if he patronizing her in some way...

"Yeah Luke. Clem's got a point. Why didn't you tell us? Can we not take care of ourselves?" Nick asked of him, with a raised eyebrow, as Luke muttered back angrily.

"Who'd believe the rapist huh? Who'd believe the crazy leader? I couldn't tell you... and it wasn't just Pete. They had Alvin and Walter as well" Luke told the pair of them, Clementine and Nick both looked at each other in horror at this surprising news. Nick gulped and turned to face Rebecca who was talking slowly to Eddie.

"She can't know. The group can't know, were broken enough as it is" Luke informed his best friend and his little sister figure.

"I get that man, but fuck. I'm your friend! I'm your best friend! I've always been open with you! I know you try and protect me, but I'm not a little boy anymore Luke! I can handle myself! So I'd like it, if you could just trust me for once and not push me to the side like a god-damn idiot!" Nick spat at his friend, as Luke looked at him.

"Nick, you don't believe I raped Kelly? Do you?" he suddenly asked, as Nick's anger seemed to downgrade into a simple frustration as he muttered "You, a rapist? Keep dreamin' Luke. I know you're not like that" he told his friend, who beamed back at him, and muttered "Thanks Nick" as Nick stood up once again.

"We have each other's back's Luke, no more of these bullshit secrets anymore" he told his friend before walking off, leaving Luke feeling more confident, as Clementine still sat there trying to absorb the shocking news she had heard... Alvin, Pete, and Walter! And then an even more shocking thought crossed her mind, causing a loose tear to fall from her eye.

"They skin bodies" she muttered emptily, as Luke noticed her distress.

"What's a matter Clem?" he asked warmly of her.

"Luke, we left Randy, Patricia and Gill behind" she sobbed, burying her face in his light-brown-ish coat, as Luke suddenly understood what she was getting at, as he held Clementine closer, as he muttered "I'm sorry, I am so sorry Clem" as she continued to weep into his shirt, still missing her friend Gill, it had only been a day since he had gone to sleep.

and now the cult were probably going to disturb his "Peace", like Nick, Clementine felt (through her tears) a burning hatred consume her, when thoughts of the cult swept through her mind.

* * *

"So, you really as useless as that bitch claims?" Vince asked Josh, deciding to approach the nervous looking man, who looked nervous standing by the door all by himself.

"That bitch? Well Marisol has that effect on people, but maybe I am..." Josh tried to laugh it off, yet Vince detected no humour behind his hacking laughs, which quickly died out into awkward silence once again.

"Why are you so down on yourself, man?" Vince decided to ask in a friendly manner, he decided that building bridges with this man was a step in the right direction, Josh looked around at the group and Vince himself, they all seemed so nice... he gulped in a guilty manner. He knew what Alex had in mind, but he couldn't help but feel horrible about himself, as he decided to open up to Vince.

"Well, let's just say I screwed up once, okay?" Josh said, as Vince simply said "Come on, my group's down enough as it is, if you're coming to Wellington with us, I want to at least get to know you better", Josh seemed to exhale deeply, before he carried on with his tale.

"Well... when this shit started, I was leader of this big group. Just like you are, with your group. Anyway I made a wrong turn on a highway. Tried to go across a bypass to save time, but my group all disagreed with me. But I thought I knew it all..." he stopped there before he continued sadly.

"My whole group died. I blame myself for it every day and I've never led a group since"

Josh stared at the floor sadly, as Vince thought hard about it, Carver, Luke, Lilly, Josh and... him? All the leaders ended up either dead or broken, why he on his way to becoming broken like Josh? He already doubted his own leader-ship and had so much on his mind already... on how easily his image, leadership, reputation and even life come could crashing down at any second...

Without any warning the door to the room opened, and a tall African american man in his late thirties strode into the room, Marisol and Anne flanked his side as a string of a dozen (healthy looking) strangers all crammed into the room after him. One of the men behind the tall African american man closed the door behind him. There seemed to be something worrying them immensely.

"This is Alex, our leader" Marisol said pointing at the African american man, who simply looked up at the new group for a second and panted "Good, good find Marisol and Anne, they'll do" he muttered, as he looked around at members of his own group and announced "Okay! You guys all ready! You know what to do!?"

Many of them nodded, Kenny's "We'll do? What the fuck does that mean!?" went ignored, as the leader scurried past the new group and searched his pockets, he pulled out a similar looking flare to the one Stephanie had.

"Okay... okay... I'm sorry I can't explain this to you guys...!" Alex began to gasp, as a loud horn from outside made everyone's blood run cold.

"Shit! Their getting closer! It has to be now Alex!" Anne yelled.

"Okay! Open the damn trapdoor Josh!"

The younger man (with shaking fingers) cleared a rug off the floor, as Marisol turned to the large group next to her "The cult must have followed you here, now we got to get the fuck out of this place" as Vince's group looked at one another in panic, as the horns outside grew louder, as a sudden knocking came from the other side of the door.

"HELP! HELP THEIR COMING!" Came a choked old tone, that was soon followed by several more, as the banging on the single door got louder and the door began to bend in the middle.

"FUCK! THEY CAN'T GET IN HERE!" a man yelled, as Josh managed to open a trapdoor under the rug, as he wiped a sheen of sweat from his forehead "Everyone down here!" he exclaimed as the group pushed and shoved each other to get to the lower level, Lilly looked at Josh with a glare that made him shrink into himself.

"You put us in here knowing there was a way out. You planned to ditch these sick people ever since we arrived didn't you!?" she spat, as Alex spoke up on behalf of the younger man.

"I'm sorry, there would have been time to explain all of this earlier, but now the cult are here, there is no time to explain. The sick people can't come with us, they'll infect us and their in no shape to travel. It seems inhuman I know, but now the cult are here... we have no choice other than to leave" Alex told them, as the door banged open again, the panicked sick, looking for their leader, as the first sounds of gunfire crashed into the glass of the lodge as screams broke out.

"W-we can't just leave them!" Sarah yelled, trying to approach the door, as Nick grabbed her by the hand as she tried to struggle out of his grip.

"Their already dead Sarah! We have to go!" he yelled, as Sarah fought against him.

"They just need help Nick! We can't leave them! Their are Children there and old people and...!" Sarah couldn't fight against Nick much longer, he was too strong for her, as she dissolved into some helpless tears. Nick felt guilty as he dragged her down the staircase to safety, he didn't like leaving them either and knew the leader had a lot of explaining to do.

Alex was the last to into the basement area, with a regretful last look at the door, he blocked out the screams and gunshots as the planted the trapdoor back into place. He wiped away a single tear, leaving the sick to die at the hands of the cult was inhuman.

But there was worse to come.

* * *

"Okay everyone this way!" Anne yelled (mainly towards the new group) as they crouched down, (avoiding the low celling) and slowly edging their way closer to a small double door. Josh opened it and the remaining survivors were met with a gust of cold air, as they slowly crept outside and tried to sneak to safety.

"You had that escape route in mind for this?" Lilly asked of Anne, who simply nodded, the group trying hard not to look back at the carnage occurring behind them, but the noises of it were enough to get everyone running towards Alex, who had sprinted behind a large boulder.

"Group 1 and Group 2, you know which directions to go and where to go!" Alex yelled, as many people nodded at him, a chunk of people (along with Josh) ran east, as Alex sighed and turned to the new group.

"Okay not much time to explain! But take this!" he instructed, handing Vince the flare, as Vince held the thing in his hands curiously.

"You're our third group, we needed a group to take this third flare. As group three, you'll set off the first flare distracting the cult, wait until my group sets off the second flare, then you people move, Group 1 which is the group that just left, will set off the third flare. There's enough flares on us to distract the cult, it will divide them, and they'll been drawn towards the flare, but when they see three, they won't know where to go. It ain't much of a distraction but it's something" Alex breathlessly explained to them.

"If we can divide the cult numbers and slip away, we might just survive this!" Vince told him, as Alex nodded, he turned back to his group and muttered "Okay, were off! Good luck you guys!" he yelled back at the new group, as he, Anne, Marisol and about 8 others sprinted off. Vince stared at the flare in his hands and wasted no time in holding it above his head and pulling the trigger...

POP!

The thing exploded in mid air, casting a green glare over the black night, as everyone scrunched up their eyes and waited, their shelter behind the large boulder seeming tiny, as more horns seemed to go off in response to the presence of this flare.

"That got those fuckers attention! Now come on!" Vince muttered, awaiting for Alex's next flare, but after about a minute, nothing seemed to happen.

The truth dawned on Lilly, before it dawned on anyone else.

"We have to move! Now!" she yelled, springing up and sprinting off into the dark night, everyone looked confused, but with the cult slowly approaching from behind them, there wasn't much choice, slowly but surely the group trailed after Lilly. Clementine turned around to see the lodge behind her and the approaching figures of the cult, they were still at a safe distance, but Clementine took no chances, as she ran over the uneven rocky surfaces to keep up with the group.

"What... the... hell... I thought Alex was going to set off his flare!?" Vince gasped, as Lilly rolled her eyes.

"You are stupid. We were tricked, Alex or that other group didn't have a flare. They needed a third group to play the idiots. We set off that flare, now every cultist in the state will be after us! While they slip off to safety!" Lilly explained to him, these words all seemed to ring true with everyone, as Nick looked back and muttered "Shit! Their following us!"

"MOTHERFUCKERS! IF I SEE THEM AGAIN! I WILL KILL THEM! I WILL KILL THEM!" Kenny roared, losing his temper completely, as Lilly seemed to agree with him, "They abandoned their sick, left them to be slaughtered like pigs, I guess it was easy for them to do the same to a group they just met" she spat as they continued to run on.

"That's all we were, Cultist bait!?" Clementine asked, as Luke nodded. Clementine thought those people had seemed nice, but now her faith in people was shaken once again. Poor Sarah was still crying lightly as she followed Nick, she saw her own group go to ruin, but that group seemed organised and friendly. (Even if she had only known them for a short time) the other's group betrayal of them, was something that hit the 16 year old very hard, and for the first time, she realised how on her own, her group really were.

Strangers weren't Gill, Patricia's or Randy's any more.

Free from the cult's trail (for now) Alex, Anne, Marisol slowly proceeded onwards, towards their destination of Wellington.

"I told you not to get attached to them" Marisol told a guilty looking Anne.

"Couldn't they have come with us? At least the kids?" Anne told Alex, who simply looked ahead of him.

"I'm sorry Anne, but they were a close knit group, there was no time to explain to them what was happening. Just be thankful they fell for my lie and that we are free, the cult have lost our trail, we can only keep moving now" he told them and his group behind him, as they moved forwards.

And so did Clementine and co, stumbling through the dark night, with the cult's attention now on them.


	20. Exit Humanity

**A/N: Okay, quite simply I'll get onto answering reviews!**

**NN009- Thanks for your words! I was worried about making your OC a villian, but it was something I never saw before with OC characters in other fics, so I gave it a try, and I'm glad you like it! **

**Rebloxic- Thanks, this next chapter, I've had planned for a while, so the tension is only going to increase further...**

**AquaDestinysEmbrace- Sorry about the other characters, but I wanted the cult to become a very real and sinister threat, and as for your song suggestions, I do like them, I'm sided with "In the Pines" if she returns, or her and Stephanie having full on "guitar wars" on who can play songs better. Again this is all an "if", but I will think about it, your character was interesting to write about, from my point of view... **

**Chameishida- Glad you thought I managed the OC's in a good way, because I had similar concerns as you about them. But it was refreshing to write about new characters. But I knew if I kept them around there'd be way too many people to keep track of. (However that doesn't mean they won't return at some point) but as for now, the main group keeps on moving...**

**Emily Carver- Loved your review and suggestions, especially about "Sarvo" (my shipping name for it, but Arvah is good too) as I almost forgot about this ship at this point (there is a lot going on) but I'll be sure to include it this chapter. And add some more Kenny/Clem moments, this story mainly focuses on the Luke/Clem relationship (as we saw a lot of Kenny/Clem in the game, however it doesn't mean it will be completely absent from this fic) and as for the cult. I like them to remain somewhat mysterious for a while, but don't worry I have a plan for them. Their not just random villains with no motive, we will eventually see what their about. But it may be a while from now...**

**Maximo and Lockdown: and Chet! Also Lockdown, I'm glad I avoided the Mary Sue, or Gary Sue stereotype that I see in a lot of fics, as they are bore to read about. **

**Eggomypeggo- Thanks for your review! **

**Guest- I'm not a massive fan of OC's either, but I did love writing them. For no enjoy the story back on the road with the main group.**

**ffapathy- Glad to surprise you. I was worried the whole meet new people/flu people get slaughtered/new people ditch them. Was all a bit too much too add in one chapter, but I'm glad you liked it. The plan to use the Howe's group as bait took a while for me to come up with and I'll get the group to discuss it this chapter, along with the obvious flaws Alex's plan.**

**and finally Transformers g1's prime- thanks for your review! and as for your question, let's simply say it was one of the badass moments in video game history and I freaking loved it!**

* * *

"Well!?"

Two pairs of murky brown orbs peered over a large rock, and swept around the darkness around the rock. The wind whistled silently, distant wolves howled, and the moon was as full and as bright as could be, small stars were sprinkled across the blue-ish night sky. The sheer rock faces of massive valley they were in, had a distinctive blue hum about them and seemingly stretched into the sky.

It was silent, the pair of murky brown orbs slowly disappeared behind the large rock once again.

"Coast is clear" Kenny whispered to the large group behind him. Many were still panting, crouched on the floor as they regained their breaths. Puffs of mist emerging from their lips as they struggled to regain their breaths and rest their aching legs.

"Now, were stuck in this valley like sitting ducks, they could gun us down in a heartbeat" Lilly snapped, throwing her head back against the rock and looking into the sky. Alex's group's betrayal was something she had seen coming first, but it still made her frustrated. Never the less, she was a bandit at one point that went around killing people. She could hardly speak.

"Well were away from the cult for now. Everyone, if you need something to eat, if you gotta piss, or whatever, do it now. We need to get back up to high ground before morning" Vince told them, as several groans followed his words.

"It's freezing" Clementine said through chattering teeth, pulling her bright orange coat closer to her.

"and were all exhausted" Rebecca added, as Alvin squirmed uncomfortably in her grip and began to wail, Rebecca tried to soothe her agitated son, but he wailed into the night, as Vince sighed and muttered, "Everyone, just get ready. It might be hard but we can't stay here. We've just about managed to get the cult of our asses, no doubt they'll be tailing us, or simply toying with us. We have to keep moving, if were gonna stay alive" Vince lectured, and so he proceeded off towards a patch of nearby trees (as he needed to relieve himself).

* * *

"It just makes you wonder, why?" Stephanie said, as she planted herself next to Lilly.

"Their assholes, but so is everyone today. Just be thankful they didn't kill us there and then and take our supplies. I used too" Lilly recalled sadly, as Stephanie tried to counter act these words of self pity, by telling Lilly "Well, you never killed kids did you? Other than that Anne girl, they all had to be adults, and they left a baby, a 12 year old and two teenagers to die" Stephanie pointed out as Lilly nodded.

"I never killed kids, that's one of the thoughts that keeps me going" Lilly told the younger woman, as Stephanie looked back into the darkness around her.

"You know, it doesn't make much sense. I understand why they had to leave those people with the flu behind. But why leave us as well? Were they just playing it safe?" she asked of Lilly, Lilly found it quite amusing that Stephanie was coming to her for guidance, out of everyone she could have asked... Stephanie chose her. It touched Lilly in strange way.

"Well, the cult's massive. No doubt it would take them minutes to massacre all those people with the flu. Within a safe shooting distance, you heard it back there... the cult seemingly accepts anyone. But even they must know that accepting people who have no treatment for flu, is accepting people who are already dead, who may infect them, add that to the fact the cult has thousands of people in it. It would only take, only a tiny section of their group to come and trail us" she paused there as Stephanie processed this information, before she piped up once again.

"Well, even if the sick only took minutes to wipe out, why spilt up? Why ditch us? If the cult are on our asses then we could lead them to Wellington. That other group was heading to Wellington, I mean where else would they go? We could lead the cult to them, added to the fact half of us wouldn't be too welcoming if we came across them again... it's just odd" Stephanie informed Lilly. Lilly inhaled, rather impressed by Stephanie's logic. Admittedly she hadn't even thought of this, (she was too busy running to care) but now she thought about it. It did seem odd, but Lilly always knew the answer. So (speaking as if she knew this the whole time) she replied to Stephanie.

"Well, I guess when the cult turned up as quickly as it did, they just wanted to save themselves. They panicked and screwed up, they probably assumed there was no way in hell we'd escape. They must have underestimated us, but how wrong were they? We've lasted just over an hour, and the prettiest face here actually has a brain..."

Stephanie chuckled at this, as Lilly found herself smiling as well.

"Me a brain? Hell, I'm just doing what your doing really, trying to see the worst in every situation" Stephanie said as Lilly rolled her eyes humorously towards the younger woman.

"Are you saying I'm depressing?" Lilly asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh yeah, very depressing Lilly. But don't worry, as long as we don't start talking about make-up or nails, the conversation is fun enough for me" Stephanie mused, as Lilly put on a fake high pitched voice and squeaked "Oh My God Stef, I think I broke a nail back there...!"

"Well then I'll break another and stick it up your ass"

Both women laughed at this, Stephanie always found it strange that she always tended to laugh after horrifying events.

"In all seriousness though, there is some girl talk that needs discussing, you and Nick... huh?" Lilly teased, looking over at where Nick and Wyatt were talking, Lilly tried to sound happy for her, but inside she was hurting. As Stephanie planted her chin on her hand, her eyes trailing Nick's tall form, as her cheeks turned redder by the second.

"Well, his nice... and he's not bad looking at all, I... I don't know Lilly. Out here I worry about him, his reckless and he might get himself killed..."

"He worries about you too. Or else he wouldn't have told me about you running away, and the girl who crashes a truck into the side of the road, can hardly call anyone else reckless" Lilly told Stephanie, as Stephanie smiled at the older woman before turning back to Nick.

"I never thought about it like that, or how alike we are" she muttered more to herself than Lilly, who listened in.

"Now isn't the time for romance, but maybe, if we get to Wellington... live, don't just survive " Lilly told her younger friend, as Stephanie looked at the ground again embarrassed, it all seemed to sudden to Stephanie, her and Nick? She was fine with him being the friend she could joke too, but lovers? Then they would have to have sex, maybe he'd rape her! Maybe he'd be another Stan! Maybe...!

Lilly tight grip on Stephanie's shoulder calmed her down, she didn't realise how badly she was shaking, as she got lost in her thoughts.

And as for Lilly, yes she felt something for Nick. But Stephanie needed him more, the girl was frightened and Lilly may have loved Nick.

But she loved the group more. and would do everything she could, to keep them alive, and happy.

* * *

"Hey, Sarita, Kenny" came a low voice.

Sarita whipped around to find a sunken looking Rebecca holding a crying Alvin to her chest, Sarita muttered a weak "Hey" in return as Kenny continued to stare at the ground, as he slowly changed the bandage around his eye. Clementine was also present, holding the old bandage, as Sarah slowly applied the new one on Kenny's face.

"How are you getting on?" Rebecca asked, sitting down next to neutral faced Kenny. He didn't respond to Rebecca, as Sarah decided to try and break the tension.

"Umm... his okay" she said, Rebecca noticed how Sarah herself sounded a little upset.

"Are you two, both okay?" she directed the question at Clementine and Sarah. Clementine simply nodded, but Sarah (after adding a brand new bandage to Kenny's eye) sighed and muttered "Why did they do it Rebecca? Why does everyone hate our group?"

Rebecca looked at her younger friend in concern, before giving her answer.

"They don't hate us. They just did something drastic and we were just the victims" Rebecca's words didn't seem to change Sarah's grim face, but Rebecca had more to say.

"Kenny, Sarita, look... I'm sorry. After seeing those people back there I worried so much for Alvin. They didn't have any meds and... God... well It doesn't make what you did any better. But it helps me understand it more" Rebecca said, as Sarita's face softened.

"Oh no Rebecca, it is fine. We should be apologising..." Sarita began.

"Save it, you already have. You have a baby on the way and I'll be dammed if I don't help you with him, or her" Rebecca told her, as Sarita muttered a "Thank you" and hugged her old friend, as the feud between them seemingly ended for now. As Kenny looked up at muttered "Great to see folk getting along again, ain't it Clem?" he asked of her suddenly, turning his singular eye to her, as Clementine simply smiled back and muttered "Yeah".

Kenny gulped as Rebecca allowed Sarita to hold a crying Alvin, so Sarita could try and get the child calm, Kenny gulped before he carried on speaking to the 12 year old in front of him "Clem, I owe you an apology. I should never have tried to steal those meds in the first place, I put you and the group in danger..."

"You were just looking out for your family, I understand" Clementine told him, as he beamed back down at her.

"So, I have another kid on the way. So, since you're 12 now. I think you're old enough to give some baby name suggestions" Kenny mused at Clementine, who replied "Well... if it's a boy. I'd want to call it Lee..."

Kenny appeared to swallow something very hard in his throat, at Clementine's statement, but he regained himself and managed to mutter, "That's a good choice Clem. Yeah Lee huh? Wish that guy was still here, he'd sort us all out..."

Clementine and Kenny laughed on, Clementine was glad to have a moment with her old friend once again and she wished that Lee was here too.

* * *

Vince pulled up his zipper once again, his urine leaving a dark stain on the nearby tree as he turned around to find Kelly standing there with a turquoise flower in her hands.

"I don't watch you while you pee. Just to clarify" she muttered in response to Vince's wide eyed look of confusion, before he grinned and muttered "Well you've seen all that before anyway" Kelly laughed at his comment, before he raised his eyebrow and muttered "Well, then why are you here?"

Kelly approached him and placed the flower in his palm.

"It's a rare flower, I used to sell a few of these back in my store, I know you get them on mountain slopes, I thought you should have it" she told him, as he pocketed the thing and kissed her.

"Thanks, but why now?" He inquired.

"I want you to prove that you love me and keep that flower on you. I want to know you care more about me,more than you do power, understood?" she asked, as Vince simply smiled and hugged her.

"Understood captain" he muttered into her shoulder, as she chuckled, he carried on "I know a lot of crazy shit just went down, but Kelly I promise you..."

The rest of his sentence was cut off by a distant rumbling of a horn, Kelly and Vince locked eyes, as both of them grew wider in fear.

"Shit" Kelly gasped.

Grabbing her hand, Vince ran back towards the group, they were all standing up and all ready to move.

"RUN!" Vince yelled, never had one of his orders received a quicker response.

* * *

Running through the darkness was a difficult task, especially with the cult closing in on the remaining group members, despite their desperate attempts to run ahead of the closing cult, Lilly was right. They were sitting ducks in this alley and the horns came from a higher altitude, as Clementine could make out the distant forms of the marching cult members on the tops of the sheer rock faces surrounding her group.

"We are so screwed, we are so screwed..." Wyatt was gasping, struggling to keep up with the group.

"Fuck... I can't go on like this!" Rebecca exclaimed, Alvin was still crying, as Eddie and Sarita both tried to support her, but this slowed the pace of the whole group, as people were starting to fall behind.

"C'mon! We have got to move!" Vince demanded of his slowing group.

"Fuck moving, I can't" Nick wheezed, clutching his stomach before he fell to the floor. Sarah and Stephanie helped him to his feet, as Vince looked back at his group, he was starting to get ahead of them... maybe he could have just...

No. He may have been a shitty leader, he may have made some bad choices. But he would not abandon the group, he had worked so hard to get to lead. He gripped on Kelly's hand tighter as he turned back towards his group who were limping after him.

"C'mon people! I don't want to have to leave anyone behind!" he yelled.

"Maybe a few of us should go on ahead, or..." Mike began to suggest, panic beginning to fog up his way of thinking, as the rumbles of the approaching cult grew nearer.

"NO! We can't leave anyone behind!" Bonnie yelled, yet she also felt like running, as she pointed ahead of her and screamed "Over there! There's a large forest, it will give us cover!" all eyes averted to the green patch in the distant, as Vince managed to pull a creased map from his pocket, as he gasped and announced "It's a gold mine! This forest goes on for miles! It leads us north up through Virginia and west Virginia and... if we keep on track, we should reach Ohio!" this seemed to give the group a bit of hope as they looked ahead of them.

"Yeah, small problem with the forest though" Lilly muttered, as the first walker emerged from the trees, another horn went off in the distance, as Stephanie seemed to reach the conclusion before Lilly did, but she didn't say anything. The truth dawned on everyone's faces, as the biggest herd Clementine had ever seen approached them. An endless array of disfigured faces and rotting arms approached her frozen group, as Luke seemed to gulp and speak up.

"Their using them damn horns to draw them too us!" We can't go back, as their blocking that way! and we can't go forward! we have to go up!" he yelled, as Christa turned to him.

"Get up? How!? You can't get up here, they have us trapped!" she yelled in frustration, her heart beating against her ribcage, sweat falling from her forehead.

"I dunno! But we have to try! Give me a hand!" He yelled, as a panicked Christa, ran up to him and allowed the younger man to crawl on her shoulders.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Kelly screeched.

"Finding us a way out of here!" Luke bellowed back, as he tried to dig his trusted machete into the rock face in front of him, seeing as it stuck he leapt off Christa's shoulders and tried to scramble up the rock face. Yet he maintained his grip for about 10 seconds before the strain of it became to much and he fell clean on his back, screaming "FUCK!" in pain as he hit the ground and his machete fell next to him, slightly cracked.

"Are you okay!?" Clementine yelled, helping him to his feet.

"I'm fine Clem! We just need too... fuck..." Luke panted, using the 12 year old as support, as his back winced horribly in pain, but he gritted his teeth and leant away from an aching Clementine. As Lilly tried to run back from the approaching herd, but stopped when she realised just how many cultists were now on ground level... and how many of them were approaching...

"Oh fuck, walkers or walkers, take your pick everyone" Wyatt said to them all, as the group stood frozen in place. Luke seemed to come up with the only solution.

"I guess there's only one thing we can do" he muttered darkly, before he strode forward before anyone could stop him, strode forwards towards the biggest herd Clementine had ever seen before...

"LUKE! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?" Vince roared, as a rumble of thunder (combined with the deep resounding approaching tribal horns of the cult) only made the walkers, stumble forwards faster to try and feast on their next meal.

"SAVING US!?" Luke roared back, as he bellowed at a nearby walker and stuck his machete deep into into it's flesh. This walkers was far ahead of the others, so Luke was easily able to cut open the thing, from the collarbone down, and smear the walker's intestines all over himself.

"IT'S NOW OR NEVER PEOPLE!" Luke shouted back at the frozen group.

"ARE YOU FUCKING NUTS!? WE CAN'T GET THROUGH A HERD THAT BIG!" Mike felt his vocal chords almost ripping apart as he screamed this at Luke. Yet he knew there was no way to get through this herd, they were so many of them... they were shoulder to shoulder... it was impossible to find spaces between them, that the group could sneak through.

"WE HAVE TO TRY!" Clementine said, running forwards towards Luke, as the young man quickly smeared her in walker guts, she felt herself shiver as her orange coat was stained red, but she knew this was the only way. She remembered what happened last time, the group had tried to walk through a herd... it didn't end all to well. And now they had to walk through a herd a hundred times bigger. With no Jane to guide them...

"I don't know why the hell I'm doing this" Nick muttered to himself running forwards, as Luke managed to kill another approaching walker, the group slowly but surely got out any knives, or sharp blades on them and began to slowly smear themselves in walker guts, the cult approaching them at a steady pace.

"It's like they want to draw us into the herd!" Lilly exclaimed angrily, as the group edged forward, Luke was slightly ahead of them all, refusing to slow down, even when Clementine nervously called out to him that he needed to slow down.

"God damn it! Luke's acting like he wants to die!" Eddie yelled, as he smeared Rebecca and baby Alvin in the cold, chunky guts. As Alvin looked up at his mother with curious green orbs.

"Okay, now stay quiet, be a good boy" she whispered to him, as lighting turned the whole area blue, as nearby thunder made the group jump. With all this noise, with the oncoming storm, the horns of the cult and the shouting of her own group. Rebecca could only pray to any God above that her son would remain silent as they made their way through this herd without getting detected by them.

"Luke! Slow down!" Nick yelled to no avail, it was then that something seemed to snap in Kelly.

"Vince... we...we need to tell them!" she exclaimed to her boyfriend, Vince paled, as many eyes turned his way, as Kelly froze on the spot. Unable to move on, even when Vince tried to tug her forward.

"Later Kelly, not now!" He shouted in frustration, as the herd ahead of them grew closer. But hearing Kelly's words made Luke pause in his tracks and backtrack a few steps.

"No! It has to be now!" she yelled, as Christa butted in with a "Tell us what!? Vince!? What is going on!?"

The group was staring at him now, despite all the noise around him, the group was silent, as he tried to brush them off "It's nothing! Can we please discuss this later!" he gestured at the approaching herd to try and prove a point, as Christa's eyes only narrowed further.

"No, I want to know what the hell is going on Vince! It sounds serious!" Christa yelled, her suspicions, aroused everyone else's. Vince found (in those few seconds) he was thankful that the herd was almost upon them.

"Later! I promise I'll tell you guys later!" he exclaimed at them all, as they turned back to the herd in those last few seconds of freedom.

"Okay quiet y'all, stick together and just follow me towards the forest. Remember act like you belong and you will belong, that's what Jane told me" Luke whispered, yet his voice carried over to everyone. The group clumped together, Clementine was behind Luke (who was at the front of the group) and in front of Kenny who had Sarita clutched close to him.

And with a deep breath... the herd reached them.

* * *

The group were engulfed in seconds, Clementine felt horrible as she looked up at the empty white eyes of the walkers that causally strolled by, the group were moving forward in some sort of straight line, interlocking hands and legs to ensure no one got cut off or lost. In this herd of moaning walkers, the sounds of the oncoming storm and the horns of the cult seemed oddly subdued as this new threat engulfed her like some strange security blanket. As long as the cult didn't start shooting... they should have been okay.

Her grip on Luke's hand was tight, as the young man's bright brown orbs, peered over the heads of the walkers and he led the group through the endless walkers. Clementine could only hold her breath as the walkers got too close for comfort.

One stumbled right into Luke, who simply shoved it away. The walker collapsed on the floor and snarled upwards, as the group seemed to freeze in it's tracks, Clementine heard another walker hit the floor behind her, and turned to face her white faced group.

"Just keep movin' don't stop if you hit one. Just act like you belong" Luke hissed over at them all, the group seemed to get the message as movement resumed, slower than usual, as Clementine (after a few minutes of silent, heart beating against her ribcage, silent terror) she bumped fully into a walker which stopped and snarled down at her. Clementine was thankful (in those seconds) that Luke hand dragged her forwards, she kept a tight lock on his blood soaked palm, as her own was drenched in sweat, she tried closing her eyes and thinking of happier times back at the store... yes... yes this helped.

BOOM!

The rumble of thunder made her yelp on the spot, as lighting turned everything around her blue, the walkers around her seemed to have surrounded her, as she felt them close in and...

Luke dragged her forward so forcefully she almost fell over, "Keep movin'!" Luke instructed her, as Kenny and Sarita trampled over the walkers that had just fallen on the spot Clementine had just been standing on, she couldn't take this much longer... bumping along legs and bodies as they stumbled past, her breath was thinning she felt like she was about to pass out...

And then Alvin started to cry.

Clementine felt her blood turn to ice, this couldn't be happening, she heard Rebecca behind her sob "No, no, no, no, no..." but it made no difference, the walkers found their new target, as their moaning became more like snarls, as Clementine noticed how suddenly their target changed, and their empty eyes locked on Alvin's cries somewhere behind her.

"RUN REBECCA!" Came Eddie's yell, as Clementine tried to see where Rebecca was, she couldn't see the woman, but she heard Rebecca scream, as Christa screamed "DON'T GO THAT WAY!" to no effect, the walkers seemed to lunge after Rebecca, and the only thing Clementine could hear was Alvin's cries, they disappeared into a spot to Clementine's east.

Suddenly everyone was screaming.

"SHE WENT THAT WAY!"

"I'M GOING AFTER HER!"

"SHIT!"

"LOOK OUT!"

Gunshots rang out, as the group behind Clementine screamed further, she suddenly noticed a walker about to crash down at her and leapt forward, without thinking, she whipped the small hatchet she had packed with her and dug into into it's pale forehead. The walker's teeth were millimetres from her skin, as she tugged the hatchet from it's forehead and sprinted on after Luke. That's when she turned around and didn't see Kenny or Sarita.

Behind her, all she could see were the faces of the dead.

More thunder rumbled, as Clementine turned to Luke, "Luke, the group are gone!" she yelled in a sheer panic, as Luke looked behind him and cursed, his eyes quickly adjusted to the forest ahead of him. "We gotta keep movin' Clem, we can only hope that they'll make it!"

"But Luke...!"

"DAMMIT CLEM KEEP MOVING!" He bellowed at her, as a nearby walker registered his voice. He kicked the thing to the ground and sliced it's head open, before it could pose a threat to him. He turned back to Clementine and muttered "I'm sorry Clem, but we can't do anything here..." Clementine gripped his hand again and he slowly lead them through the herd.

As the first drop of rain landed on Clementine's nose.

"Luke..." she said nervously, as the rain began to fall heavier.

"What?" he snapped back not getting it at first as he looked down at Clementine, but then he noticed how the rain slowly wiped away the layer of walker guts from her skin. Thunder rumbled again, as lighting danced across the cloudy black sky, Luke looked up to see several walkers approaching him and Clementine.

Their cover was blown.

"CLEMENTINE JUST RUN!" Luke bellowed shoving her out of the way, as about three walkers lunged at him at once. Clementine didn't see what happened next, because Luke was lost from view.

"LUKE!" She screamed in fear, the only thing that answered were nearby walkers that lunged right at her, Clementine tried to keep her cool and ran from them, but in the madness, they were everywhere, as the rain fell into her eyes... she felt herself trip and her cap go flying from her head as she scrambled back up again to avoid the walkers that tried to bite her. She crashed and rebounded off every leg in the herd, running blindly through this herd...

Trying to find a way out.

* * *

Sarah was crying, the group had broken apart so damn fast... one minute she was holding on to Nick's hand and the next minute all hell broke loose. She lost her grip on Nick's hand. She heard him bellow her name and then he was gone, she couldn't wait around as she ran forward to try and find him, but all she saw were a sea of bodies that she had to run from, she blindly ran through the herd, sobbing as she fell to the floor and tried hard to keep her glasses on her nose...

The rain didn't help matters as Sarah ran as fast as she could, half blind with the raindrops on her glasses and expecting to be bitten at any second, as she felt walkers snag at her trousers... any second and it would be over...

And then... suddenly, there were no more walkers, she looked behind her to see, that by some miracle she had reached the forest. She could breathed in relief, as she wiped rainwater from her eyes and proceeded forward to get away from the walkers that still trailed her, but then she noticed a familiar form, lying prone and cropped up on a tree.

"Alex?" she questioned, as the African american man looked up at her weakly. He seemed to smile in relief.

"Oh thank God, thank you... you... you have to help me. Me and my group we were walking along when we got ambushed by the cult. I got wounded and separated from them, but I managed to take shelter here" he told her, as Sarah gazed at him.

"I'm sorry, I am so sorry we left you. We shouldn't have done so and..." Alex began to say to an unwavering Sarah. For once Sarah didn't feel sorry for someone, she even feltt a little bit bad for Carver when he died, but this man... no. She had no sympathy for him.

"Your plan didn't work then" she told him flatly, as Alex seemed to pale.

"Well, no. It was a silly plan..." he began to laugh, as Sarah felt herself get... mad?

"MY FRIENDS ARE PROBABLY ALL DEAD OUT THERE! AND YOUR LAUGHING ABOUT IT!" She screamed, as Alex winced, that didn't come across the way he wanted to at all.

"No, you got me all wrong. You're a good girl, I know you are. I saw you back at the lodge, you didn't want to leave any of those sick people behind. You won't leave me behind, You are better than that" Alex told her with a warm smile, as Sarah finally seemed to understand as Alex looked down at his bloodied stomach and muttered "I need help walking, will you help me?" he asked her kindly, as Sarah looked down at him.

"No"

Her voice was cold, her anger at this leader... she couldn't explain it, he began to panic as Sarah walked away from him, he could hear nearby walkers approaching.

"NO! PLEASE! LISTEN HERE! YOU ARE BETTER THAN THIS! I KNOW YOU ARE!"

Sarah turned back to him, she could only utter one thing.

"I'm not. I used to think I was, but you taught me leaving the weak to die is how you survive now. It serves you right"

She heard him screaming, but she didn't turn back, a dozen walkers encircled a screaming Alex as the man tried to drag himself to freedom to no avail, as the first walker fell on him and bit down into his neck, bursting his jugular vein, Sarah heard Alex's flesh rip and his last screams for mercy, as he was pulled apart. She simply walked forwards, she didn't care. Thanks to this man, she was alone now. She would probably cry later. But for now she simply walked ahead and into the forest.

She and Alex weren't friends, right?

* * *

Clementine jumped over a fallen walker and burst into some sort of clearing, as she froze seeing the sight in front of her.

A walker had latched it's teeth upon Kelly's arm, the Asian woman screamed in agony trying to tug her army away, but it was useless, more walkers were seconds from getting to her. In her last moments the Asian woman's eyes connected with Clementine's.

"CLEM! ABOUT LUKE! HE DIDN'T RAPE ME! I FRAMED IT! I FRAMED IT! I AM SO SORRY! I AM SO...!"

She got no further, Clementine could only look on with shock as a walker bit Kelly neck, she choked as blood poured from her neck. One particular ravenous walker, managed to rip half of Kelly's neck wide open, as Kelly's cries died completely, as a shower of her blood spurted onto Clementine's face, as Clementine watched blood pump and organs slowly throb in what was once Kelly's neck, as they slowly stopped, and Kelly seemed to slouch on the floor before falling back...

Kelly's empty eyes found the sky above her, before a crowd of hungry walker's engulfed the woman, pulling out thin blue veins from her neck and chewing on them like they were spaghetti, as wormy blood red intestines were bitten into, Clementine was reminded of her first death upon looking at this. She couldn't take it, she screamed and ran as fast as she could away from where Kelly had been ripped to shreds. With the walkers feasting on Kelly, Clementine found a clearing and soon knew she had gained freedom when she hugged a tree a fair few meters into the forest.

She didn't whoop in joy, instead she simply hugged the tree and vomited violently below her, she didn't stop for quite a while, her throat was dry, her eyes were burning and her legs were shaky, as she slowly collapsed in her own puddle of vomit, sniffing slightly as she gazed at the trees above her, realising then that her cap was missing as well, she couldn't move.

_She was disgusted with everything she had seen and heard that night._


	21. No One Is Safe No One Is Sane

**A/N: Okay, another huge thank you for your continued support and for your opinions on the story!**

**Chameishida- Thanks again for another great review and it's always great to hear what you've got to say and I love this whole prayer circle thing that's built up, of course Sarah doesn't need a prayer circle, the others are probably praying to her, to come and save them (I'm joking, but yeah Sarah is a great character to write about) **

**Rebloxic- Glad you liked last chapter, and as for your question... yes. At first they were, but now I'm branching them off to be their own sort of unique group of baddies.**

**ffapathy- Loving your reviews and I'm glad the story makes the high point of your day sometimes, so I 'll try to update it ASAP, I loved how you pointed out the theme of the story about people trying to avoid "Going to Ruin" yet the harder they try, the worse it gets for everyone. I think it reflects survival in a world like this, especially in a group as big as Clem's where the emotional toll of the apocalypse is starting to break them all.**

**Zombieslayer995- It would be interesting to bring that up again, but then again I don't know who would believe her.**

**nina- Glad you pointed out the link, Chapter 1 may have just been more than a creepy dream...**

**Transformers g1's-prime- The hat! No! yeah, the hat will serve a big loss for Clem (as well as being disgusted with seeing Kelly ripped apart) Clementine was a badass in the game, and pretty much so for most of No Going Back? In this story I want to expose a more vulnerable side to her. **

**and thanks to everyone else for your kind words! **

**P.S. This chapter is very messed up, just a pre-warning.**

**P.S.S. Since I haven't done this before, I'd thought I'd start now, Clementine and the rest of the gang belong to Telltale Games, while Anne Marshall belongs to AquaDestinysEmbrace.**

* * *

"NO!"

Rebecca didn't know when, or how she had lost her grip on her son, all she knew is that one second she was running with him and that the next second someone tugged at her hands and he was gone, she was left running on auto-pilot for about a minute or two before the gravity of the situation hit her... her son was gone.

"A-alvin?" she sobbed desperately looking around her, nothing but dead faces rapidly approaching were in her line of vision. There were no people, nothing. No cries of her child, as Rebecca sank to her knees, letting the rainwater on the rocky floor soak through her trousers as she shivered. The ice-cold rainwater dripping from her curly hair and nose as the herd approached... Rebecca closed her eyes, Alvin was dead, she must have dropped him somehow, now it was her time to die. She knew it, of all the times she was ready... in Carver's office... when the herd was approaching Howe's for the first time... she expected to die so many times.

But now was that time. She knew it, as the first cold hand clamped around her shoulder, she shuddered as she prepared the first of the walker's teeth to sink into her flesh...

"REBECCA WE GOTTA MOVE!"

Rebecca's light brown eyes snapped open at the southern voiced woman who was bellowing at her to move. In the sea of rotting white skin, and damp black hairs, Rebecca caught a flash of scarlet hair...

"REBECCA COME ON!" Bonnie screamed firing into the hers around her, the gunfire sounded dim to Rebecca's ears.

"There's no point, Alvin's dead" Rebecca mumbled, despite the overwhelming noise around her, Bonnie somehow overheard Rebecca's mournful mumble, as the redhead woman bent down on her own knees and screamed at her "NO! HIS NOT! THE FOREST IS RIGHT THERE REBECCA, CHRISTA'S GOT EM! WE SAW YOU STRUGGLIN'' AND CAME TO COME AND GET YOU...!"

The nearest walkers was feet away, the rocky ground was littered in golden bullets, Rebecca didn't know whether or not Bonnie was lying or not, but all she knew is that in the next few seconds she was on her feet and running after Bonnie, as she bumped past walkers and suddenly she crashed into the waiting form of Mike, Rebecca looked up to see she had indeed reached the forest...

"You okay?" Mike asked, as Rebecca didn't reply to the blood drenched man, instead she simply stood up tall and ran over to Christa's tall form, practically ripping the wailing bundle from Christa's one remaining hand.

"I thought you needed help!" a wide eyed Christa told a clearly furious Rebecca, Rebecca did not appericate Christa trying to steal her child from her, but now? Seriously?

"I was doing fine, you steal Alvin from me again Christa, I'll make sure you have no hands left to hold him with! Rebecca growled, as Christa looked somewhat taken aback, admittedly her plan to grab the baby and run off with Mike, was foiled the second the overly attached Bonnie had seen them. The herd was the perfect chance to get away, Christa could start again, with her baby, with her new man, and even with Clementine even she could find the 12 year old. She, Mike, Clementine and Alvin, they'd be a stable little family, she may have blamed Clementine for Omid's death, but she cared a great deal about the 12 year old.

Then Bonnie came along and they had to team up with this group once again, now Rebecca was here, Christa's escape plan was in tatters, she glanced over at Mike, as Bonnie hugged her "boyfriend" there was no getting out of this. Rebecca had her baby back, Bonnie was present, like a fly that simply wouldn't leave Christa alone and Clementine was God knows where... Christa sighed and wiped her long fringe, Mike, Alvin Junior and Clementine, the three people Christa vowed to protect, the three people Christa wanted to save from this hellhole of a group...

"Well, we better move, their are walkers incoming" Bonnie told the group, as they all glanced in front of them. Christa wanted to linger a bit longer, to see if Clementine or Arvo (she had a horrible feeling the teenager (with his bad leg) had failed to get through the herd alive. She wanted to see if they were going to stumble out of the herd un-bitten and alive... but she highly doubted that would happen, the herd were drawing nearer to the treeline, reeled in by Alvin's cries...

"Let's move" Christa announced as the tall woman turned away from the herd and followed Mike, Rebecca and Bonnie into the darkness ahead of her, she could hear Rebecca trying to shush her son, in the darkness Christa's eyes connected with Mike's, there was a desperate longing in Christa's eyes.

All she wanted, was her old family back.

* * *

Vince panted, barely able to reach the tree-line with the others no where in sight, the only thing he managed to find was Clementine's soaking hat, simply lying there being trampled on by the walkers, the Asian man had scooped up the drenched and weather worn cap. the second he had reached the tree-line and had proceeded to check the thing... it was still covered in blood, but no tell-tale signs that the 12 year old girl was defiantly dead, yet Vince didn't want to get his hopes up to high.

He peered into the herd ahead of him, he was tempted to dive back inside to find at least one member of his group, but in those seconds he did so anyway. One of the members of his group stumbled out of the herd for a few seconds, allowing Vince to look into her white eyes.

"K-kelly!" he spluttered in disbelief, the walker looked like her, except her eyes and skin were now deathly pale, her intensities had been pulled out of her stomach and a chunk of her neck had been ripped off, Vince could only stare, tears building in his eyes, the walkers was wearing Kelly's coat, it had Kelly's hair it was... it truly was...

"NO! FUCK NO!" Vince bellowed in grief, as he felt himself dissolve into tears, as he fell to his knees and helplessly used his hands to hammer on the somewhat hard ground beneath his fists. The skin quickly cracked and bled but Vince carried on pelting the ground with his bloody hands, not caring about the pain that shot up through his hands, he wanted to punish himself! to destroy himself! for what he had done to his girlfriend! He had failed her! If she was dead then the group must have been...

The thought caught Vince to scream, as more tears squeezed themselves from his clenched eyelids, he just wanted the walkers to hear his death screams and come hither to rip him to pieces, yet the first sound he heard that made him look up, weren't the growls of an ravenous walker, but the sound of metal hitting flesh...

A curious Vince looked up to see Luke cutting down walkers with his machete with a ferocious anger, bellowing Clementine's name, as he tried to peer over the heads of the walkers to find the 12 year old girl.

Luke...

Vince's grief transformed to anger in a nanosecond, he clutched the ground in front of him and chucked up pieces of dirt, from the grassy plain beneath the trees.

Luke had killed Kelly, not him.

It was his plan to walk into the herd in the first place, he led the group to it's doom, he probably killed Kelly in the herd! Yes! It all made sense now! He must have killed her when no one else was looking! He must have been angry about that whole fake rape thing...!

He and Kelly had let Luke live, this is how he repaid them? With murder?

In his grief, Vince had snapped, he didn't know it of course but every thought from that point onwards were directed at only one thing, destroying Luke. Wiping that young man off the face of the earth and giving him a death even worse than his girlfriend's...

He clutched Clementine's hat in his fingers, a downright evil plan playing in his mind, as Vince smiled sinisterly, the only thing that could give him comfort in light of Kelly's death, was Luke's own...

A rustling behind him made put his master plan at halt, he turned around and marched into the treeline, whoever was watching him certainly tried to scurry away fast, but Vince caught her too fast, he grabbed a lock of straggly brown hair and threw the teenage girl to the ground with force, so much so she yelped in pain and swore under her breath.

"Well... well... well... look what we have here" Vince muttered, as he tutted, the girl glared up at him.

"It's Anne isn't it? Part of that group that left us to die... oh isn't Karma a bitch?" Vince asked of Anne again, who managed to mutter in reply "Okay, you were right, our plan was wrong alright!? what do you want! my head on a platter!" she screamed, as Vince only smiled at her and then at the approaching Luke, the plan was getting ever better.

"Oh no, you're going to stay still I do what I say, now give me your guns" Vince said pointing locking his own gun on the teenage girl's head as she sighed and emptied all of her weapons onto the ground next to her, Vince smiled and scooped them up and slowly put them into his coat pockets.

"I won't last a day without them" Anne told Vince sadly, gazing at her lost supplies.

"Tough shit bitch, you try and get one on us, we get one on you" Vince snarled back, as Anne stared sadly at the ground, in the distance Vince thought he could hear... was that Kenny? Yes... along with Wyatt and Eddie, they were shouting and approaching the scene, it was all like a well played jigsaw coming together as Vince knew what was going to happen, and he knew he was going to love every second of it.

"Please, our group got ambushed, we got separated, I didn't want too..." Anne begged, her eyes wide.

"I don't care" Vince told her coldly.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Anne roared, as she ripped her bandanna from her eye, revealing nothing but an ugly red patch in it's place where her eye should have been "DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I'VE BEEN CALLED A FREAK!? A CYCLOPS, BECAUSE OF THIS!" She pointed dramatically at her eye before continuing "MY LIFE WAS FUCKING SHITTY BEFORE ALL OF THIS! PLEASE! HEAR ME NOW, JUST LET ME GO! I DON'T WANT ANY TROUBLE AND I KNOW YOU PEOPLE ARE GOOD PEOPLE...!"

"Shut up" Vince snapped, not interested in what Anne had to say at all, the emotional 15 year old panted her way into silence as she began to cry silently, her parents had never paid much attention to her now it felt like that all again, all she wanted to do was get back to her old group. To Marisol and co, so she could laugh with them and enjoy life a little more, she was only 15, she had barely started living and she did not want to die here...

Yet as Anne thought sadly, Luke was almost on the scene, it was time...

Vince hauled Anne to her feet and placed a strong arm around the young girls' neck, as she grasped for air a bloodied Luke burst onto the scene, his eyes wild as he ran forward and then paused in his tracks and screamed "VINCE HAVE YOU SEEN CLEM...!?"

His wild inquiry died on his tongue, when his eyes adjusted to the site of Vince pointing his pistol straight at him and at the hostage Anne in Vince's grip.

"Vince, what's goin' on?" Luke asked, frozen in place.

"ANYONE AROUND!? SARITA!?" Came Kenny's bellow in the distance.

Luke looked like he wanted to respond to Kenny's yell but Vince only gestured at his gun and placed his index finger to his lips, indicating that Luke should have stayed silent, Anne squirmed in Vince's grip, moaning pitifully, unable to break free from his demented grip on her.

"Lower your pants Luke" Vince commanded.

"What?" Luke asked bewildered, even though he heard Vince clearly.

"FUCKING LOWER THEM NOW, OR I'LL SHOOT!" Vince roared.

He looked insane, Luke didn't know what to do, but he slowly but surely grabbed the hem of his soaked trousers and lowered them slowly into his bare legs were on display.

"And your boxers" Vince growled, as Luke looked at Vince blankly, unable to believe what the hell he was hearing.

"Vince..." he began a little shakily.

"DO IT FUCKING NOW! OR I'LL PUT A BULLET IN HER AND YOU!" Vince spat, as Anne closed her eyes and wept into Vince's arm, Luke knew full well Vince would shoot, he had that look in his eye... he had snapped, all Luke could do was obey his insane command, as he awkwardly lowered his boxers, Vince glanced at him once and simply muttered "Good" before he chucked Anne to the floor next to him, and ripped her shirt off with such force that she gasped, as Vince tore up the thing and looked back at Luke.

"You know what to do Lukey boy" he said to the younger man.

"HEY! VINCE IS THAT YOU!?" Came Wyatt's shout, they grew closer with each passing second, Luke looked in the direction of an approaching Wyatt, he then glanced down at himself and then a shirtless Anne who was sobbing into the floor, using her one hand to cover her breasts. The horrible conclusion dawned on him, as the young man's face fell, "No, Vince! She's 15! WHAT'S THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" He roared, as Vince only smiled as Eddie's voice now shouted "LUKE!?"

"You have 30 seconds Luke to fuck this chick, or else I'll shoot you both" Vince told Luke as cold as Ice, this tone in his voice certainly chilled Luke to the core.

"I'D RATHER FUCKING DIE!" Luke roared back, as Vince only smiled at him again he was expecting this response.

"Yeah, but you see Clementine was looking for you Luke, she seemed so eager to find you" Vince said casually producing Clementine's hat from behind him, Luke paled, Clementine was hardly ever seen without that thing on, did Vince know where she was? "You don't want to break her heart by showing up dead, do you?" Vince asked, as if reading a troubled Luke's thoughts, Clementine was his only remaining link with his sanity, he wanted to see her again so badly... even if this was a fluke... he had to try.

"Where is she?" Luke growled.

"She's waiting with Nick back there, they are both eager to see you. I told them to stay back while I went out looking for you, now I've found you, raping another girl" he snarled at Luke, while glancing at a grovelling Anne on the floor.

"Do you think, Clementine will ever want to talk to me after she finds at about this?" Luke said shakily, gesturing at Anne once again who lay there helplessly, unable to believe what was about to happen to her. She thought these people were nice, but they were nothing but a pack of rapist, bandit fucks...

"Yes, she'll still want to talk to you Luke. She did so before, she'll do so again. After I saw what you did to Kelly, I don't want to kill you Luke, I want to destroy you, to frame you at every opportunity, until even Clementine is sick of you" Vince grinned, Luke looked down at Anne, the rest of the group were approaching fast.

"What are you talking about, what did I do to Kelly...?"

"DON'T FUCKING ACT LIKE YOU DON'T KNOW! YOU KILLED HER! I KNOW YOU DID! STOP FUCKING LYING LUKE!"

Kelly was dead, Luke didn't know how to feel, he knew he wasn't the one to do it. But there was no way in hell he would convince Vince otherwise, looking into his eyes he knew Vince was simply too far gone. he knew what he had to do, he wanted to stay alive so he could see Clementine again...

But, as much as it pained him, he knew this is where he had to die. He would die a hero, he would never rape, ever. He would rather Clementine remember him as he was, an innocent man and not an actual rapist...

"Well then Vince, shoot me. Because I'm done with this shit!" Luke yelled, as Vince's brows furrowed, the group were seconds away from them, his plan had foiled. Luke was being too much of a damn pussy to do what needed to be done! There was no time, Vince's next move was his most drastic...

He pointed his gun down.

BANG!

and then again

BANG!

He threw the gun at a stunned Luke who dropped it to the ground, Vince collapsed on the floor, he had shot himself in the leg as he gritted his teeth and yelped in pain, next to him the girl, Anne, lay as dead as a dodo, a bullet hole in the middle of her head, the last of her tears still rolling down her pale cheek, her eyes still open. An innocent girl lay dead.

Vince had to dispose of evidence against him.

Kenny, Eddie and Wyatt burst onto the scene, the sounds of the bullets propelling them forward at a faster pace, Kenny expected to find Sarita, laid dead on the ground, thankfully the site wasn't that of Sarita.

But it wasn't much better.

Vince was screaming in pain and clutching his bloody leg, a young girl, half naked, lay exposed and dead, a bullet hole through her head and standing up tall with a gun at his feet, and his trousers and pants down revealing more than Kenny ever wanted to see of him, was Luke.

The gun was at his feet, he was caught trousers down.

"YOU ANIMAL! YOU FUCKING ANIMAL LUKE! YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO KILL HER!" Vince roared over at him.

Luke went to bellow a response, but at that second a gunshot went off, as Luke screamed and clutched his kneecap, another gunshot went off and scraped at Luke's second kneecap, his legs failed him as blood rained down them, he collapsed on the floor, as Kenny turned around to see Wyatt had fired the shots that had crippled Luke for the time being.

"That fucker" was all Wyatt could say, before he, Eddie and Kenny surrounded Vince.

"You alright?" Wyatt asked, as Vince choked back a sob and murmured "he... he killed Kelly! I found her as a walker... he admitted it, and raped the girl here, I tried to talk sense into him! But then he starts going speaking crazy shit, I try to run off but then he shoots me and... and thank God you guys came along..." Vince sobbed, as Wyatt began to work on patching up Vince's leg, as Eddie looked over at where Luke lay on the ground.

"I knew that guy had fucking lost it. Trying to lead us through that herd like that, fuck..." Eddie groaned, massaging his head, he had lost Rebecca in the herd somewhere, he would have gotten lost too, had Wyatt not followed him and managed to lead him to the forest, where they found a frantic Kenny who had been separated from Sarita, then the first sight the trio had come across was this? With the news Kelly had been murdered?

It didn't help calm Eddie at all.

"It's gonna hurt but I can support you" Wyatt told a thankful Vince, as Wyatt helped Vince back onto his feet.

"Wait... Vince..." Luke croaked, as all heads turned to him, Kenny's face was that of complete fury.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP! VINCE! WE SHOULD KILL HIM! WE SHOULD KILL HIM NOW! THE FUCKING SICKO!" Kenny bellowed.

"Yeah, we should, just let me... say something to him" Vince said as he "bravely" limped forward to where Luke glared up at him, Eddie, Kenny and Wyatt all watched Vince cautiously as he picked up "Luke's" gun from the ground and bent down on his good leg.

Of all the things Luke could have said to Vince in those moments, all the hateful things he could have said... but he knew how pointless that was. He asked the only question that mattered.

"Vince... is she safe?"

Vince grinned devilishly and whispered into Luke's ear.

"No, I was there when she got ripped to shreds Luke, I was too late to do anything other than pick up a memoir to remember her by, if it helps she died screaming your name".

Vince watched as Luke's face fell for a final time, this never gave him more satisfaction,yet he failed to notice the flower Kelly had given him slide out of his pocket and into the undergrowth.

"You'll see Clem again real soon Luke, don't worry" Vince reassured him, as the first tear fell from Luke's eye, he simply looked crushed and Vince loved it. In his last few hours of life Vince wanted Luke to suffer, with this he used his own gun to whack Luke across the head as the young man fell unconscious.

"Let's go" Vince ordered as Eddie jumped over Anne's body and Wyatt helped Vince to his feet.

"Aren't we going to kill him?" Wyatt asked, looking down at Luke disgusted.

"No, his not worth our breath, let's leave him to the walkers" Vince said, hopefully he ended up in a worse shape than Kelly when the walkers started munching on his pretty boy little face, and hopefully he would wake up in those last moments in agony as they tore him apart.

Kenny was reminded of Andy St. John as Vince, Wyatt and Eddie all trailed into the woods as he took one last look back at Luke, he thought Andy was nice at first, then he knew what Andy had really sunk too. It was the same with Luke, once a great leader and now this... a rapist, a murderer, the lowest of the low. The same as Andy, Kenny left him in silence, determined to find his pregnant girlfriend, in a world gone to hell.

As Eddie began to quiz Vince on all that had happened and where "Did that girl come from?" Vince himself answered confidently, feeling no regret to what he had done to Luke, the rest of the group he would lead easily. But Luke was always that damn obstacle, that person in the way... Vince had finally disposed of him, he was free of all guilt. Although he still mourned over Kelly and was still in a somewhat numb haze, he was happy. Even when Kenny asked about where he had gotten Clementine's hat from, his sombre reply of "I simply found it, I'm sorry Kenny, but you never know she might have made it" Kenny looked downtrodden at the news, but Vince could only think of one thing.

Finally, he was in power.

If only he knew that Stephanie had seen everything from where she watching the whole scene from behind a nearby tree, when she was sure Vince had left she cautiously approached an unconscious Luke...

* * *

Sarah noticed the first sounds of a struggle when she heard some panting, she looked forward cautiously to find Arvo struggling beneath a walker, the Russian teenager's face was drenched in sweat as his arms buckled beneath him, the walker drawing itself closer to him...

"NO!" Sarah roared approaching the thing, using the pistol Lilly had given her a long time ago, she aimed down the nuzzle as Nick told her too, and fired. With a resounding POP, the walkers head exploded, a startled Arvo managed to wriggle himself free, as he leant up against a tree and slowly stood up, cautiously on his bad leg, as he heaved and panted, before his grey eyes found Sarah's brown one's.

"SARAH!" He yelped in glee, as Sarah ran forward to hug him, the second her arms wrapped around Arvo's she knew she didn't want to let go of him. As Arvo laughed in joy barely able to believe he had been saved...

"I was so scared Sarah. I tried to run after Christa, but I lost her. I find forest but walkers follow me and then that one traps me and I thought..." he seemed to hold back a sob as he hugged her tighter "I am glad you are here" he muttered to her, as Sarah nodded slowly in agreement.

"I left someone to die Arvo" she found herself sobbing for some unknown reason, as Arvo's eyes widened.

"What?" he shouted, as Sarah sobbed onto his shoulder.

"That Alex guy, his group got ambushed and he got wounded. He was in the woods, back there, but I got really mad with him and I... I let the walkers eat him...!" Sarah was yelling now as Arvo simply hugged her ever tighter and whispered into her ear "It's okay Sarah, It's okay, he was a bad man. He left us to die. He deserved it" these soothing words, drew a general question from a still shaking Sarah.

"Would you have left him Arvo?"

The Russian boy didn't take long to reply.

"Yes, I would have done"

Sarah sniffed and muttered "I thought I was going to be all alone out here, that everyone else was dead. I'm glad you're okay" she told him, as Arvo seemed to gain a lot of confidence in those few seconds.

"I thought the same Sarah, I am so glad to see you..." his voice trailed off to a halt as they gazed at each other for a few seconds, Arvo leant forward and didn't hesitate when he kissed Sarah, for a few seconds Sarah didn't know what to do, but then she closed her eyes and allowed Arvo to kiss her, full on the lips. This... it felt nice.

Arvo finally broke apart, savouring the memory of his first kiss as much as Sarah was.

"It's strange. I never imagined living through today. Yet alone kissing you" Arvo told her, as Sarah hugged him, liking the way Arvo warmed her up from the inside, as she laughed and felt a few tears fall from her cheeks.

"It's weird" she laughed, crying tears of happiness, it had been a chaotic day, after all the trauma and horrible things she had done that day, now she was suddenly kissing Arvo and was as happy as she could be. Even if they were two weak teenagers, alone in the woods, with no idea where their friends were, or even if their friends were alive.

Sarah realised then, in times like these maybe that's what drove people to cherish what they had. and to act upon it.

Because she had seen how easily it could all be lost.

* * *

"SARAH! SARAH!"

"Nick, we'll find her, calm down" Lilly assured him, as he glared back at her, yet he closed his mouth.

"She could be dying back there and you expect us to walk forward!?" he challenged of her.

"Sarah will be too, we will find each other, don't worry. If we stand around shouting,nothing is going to change and we'll just draw walkers to us. We have to keep moving, Sarah's tough, she'll be fine Nick" Lilly said again, she had to follow Nick and guide him to safety, after he recklessly tried to bulldoze through the herd looking for Sarah. In the woods they bumped into a lost Sarita, who had since joined their little party and was now trailing at the back of their group, no doubt she as nervous because of what she had done in the past, she didn't share the best relationship with Lilly or Nick.

Nick piped down and decided to stay silent for a while, yet he was worried, Stephanie, Sarah, Luke, Clem... any one of them could have been dead right now. and he couldn't do shit about it.

Sarita knew Nick was agitated and had no comforting words for him, she was desperate to find Kenny again, so much so, she kept her eyes peeled on the trees to her side, hoping to catch a glimpse of him...

Wait, was that a leg?

A curious Sarita stopped and approached the small leg sticking out from behind the tree, Lilly looked back and noticed Sarita trailing off to the side of the path and shouted "hey! What is it!?" to Sarita.

"It's Clementine!" she shouted back, gazing at where the small girl had fallen asleep in a pile of her vomit.

"Shit!" Lilly shouted as she and Nick ran forward and bent over Clementine, the young girl woke up to shouting... and next thing she knew Nick, Lilly's and Sarita's faces were floating above her's, asking if she was okay. If she was bitten, if she had seen the others...

"Kelly's dead, the walkers got her" Clementine managed to gasp, as Lilly looked at Nick.

"Shit" he muttered, if she was dead then no doubt some others would be too, this caused him to panic even more...

"But... she told me... before... she died. Vince and her they faked it! She admitted it! They framed Luke for rape! You have to believe me!" Clementine begged of the three, as Lilly came to the conclusion the quickest "My God, Kelly wanted to tell us something before we got into the herd, that must have been it!" she yelled, as the truth dawned on them all.


	22. An Unforgivable Act

**A/N: Okay, another big thanks to everyone whose reviewed and kept on following this story!**

**AquaDestinysEmbrace- I liked Anne as a character, and killing her off wasn't the easiest decision I made but I couldn't see her surviving for the plot to continue, as Luke refused to rape her and she would have exposed Vince for what he was... added to the fact Vince has reverted back to the murderer he was pre-apocalypse, it shows how "gone to ruin" Vince has truly gone by murdering an innocent 15 year old. I guess I feel like Telltale now whenever they killed off a much loved character...**

**Yomi Roken- Yep, I think "asshole" sums Vince up in one word.**

**ffapathy- Glad this story is continuing to shock and entertain you chapter after chapter, and I really liked the point you made about Marisol and Joshua, as you'll find out this chapter...**

**Kristal Dynamite- Hello! I read your review for No Going Back? and I loved it, (P.S. Your stories are still awesome, so keep on writing them!) now for your review here, I'm glad you're loving the Stephanie, Nick and Lilly trio, It wasn't something I had planned at the start, but sometimes plans change and these three characters are so much fun to write! (Logical Lilly, Hot headed Nick and the somewhat vulnerable and crazy Stef) **

**Transformer's g1's-prime- Liking your predictions and continued support, always nice to hear your thoughts! P.S. Of course I wouldn't kill off AJ... yet. (Gives evil laugh) **

**Lockdown- "Evil" it's a powerful word and it seems to every reviewer Vince has indeed sunk to that level.**

**Chameishida- I thought people hated Carver during the first story, but the Vince hate in this story... seems like I'm pretty good at writing characters who are easily detestable... still at least I made Vince likeable at one point... a long time ago...**

**Rebloxic- Thank you! **

**WalkingJess- Thanks for your review and don't worry I take a lot of time for myself, usually I manage to update these vast chunks of chapters every two days or slightly more, but I always give myself a break, or write them bit by bit, usually though when I'm in a mood to write I will go and on, I get writer's block easily, but with this story I have so many ideas and events planned that when I start writing I can't stop, it's fun to write and I always find free time to write this (it's a great hobby that keeps me active). Hearing all the great feedback only spurs me on to write more, so I appreciate all of it**

**and thanks everyone else for your kind words!**

* * *

"Luke?"

No response, the young man really was out cold. Stephanie approached his burly form and gazed down at him for a few minutes, trying hard to block the sounds of the approaching herd behind her, no doubt Vince's gunshots were drawing them to the area. The young woman peered into the treeline ahead of her to double check to Vince, Eddie and Wyatt were gone... it was completely silent and if it wasn't for the dead girl on the floor and an unconscious Luke, Stephanie would have never guessed a cold blooded murderer had stood here mere minutes before...

Vince.

Vince, the kind able man, yes he was a murderer before the apocalypse. But he had turned over a new leaf, he had helped fight in the rebellion, he helped the fight against Carver, he hid and killed Steve, saving the group from the bandits and then fought the oncoming herd. After that Vince was always friendly with people, even after losing Russell who he cared a great deal about. He got together with Kelly, they had the infamous "sex snap" that made the group laugh just thinking about it, as things started to go downhill in the Hardware store, Vince was the one who would speak the sense that an increasingly unstable Luke wasn't able too...

And then what happened?

What happened to this man? Carver, Vince? From her early days at the Hardware store Stephanie didn't see much of William Carver, but he seemed like an okay guy, so when he descended to devilish depths Stephanie wasn't too concerned about it. Because she was never close to Carver anyway... but this was Vince! Vince, a good friend! Someone she knew! Someone who had a crush on her best friend Shel! Stephanie was still reeling in shock over what she had seen... she knew Vince may have been lying about Luke's rape. But this not only confirmed it, but showed what he had become.

"Luke?" Stephanie felt inclined to ask again, as the young man's eyes fluttered open, he looked up at Stephanie and muttered "Jane... is that you?"

"No, it's me Luke. Stephanie" Stephanie felt bad to tell him this, as the angelic form of the woman he loved, burst in his mind as Stephanie's own face floated above his own. His maple coloured eyes regained their focus as he blinked and wildly glanced around him.

"I... I'm... not dead?" he croaked miserably, as Stephanie placed her arms around his torso.

"No, now come on you're getting up" she instructed him harshly, as she tried to tug him to a standing position yet he seemed determined to remain hugging the lush green undergrowth beneath him.

"I can't... I..." He began to sob, as he let the tears fall freely, his thoughts on the little sister figure he had lost.

"Luke, it's okay. I saw it all, I saw what Vince did! I know how messed up that fucker is! Now come on, were gonna catch up with him and make that fucker pay!" Stephanie yelled to encourage him, yet she still found it impossible to pry him from the ground.

"I can't go on Stef, leave me here. Just leave me to die. I failed her, Clementine died back in that herd, Vince told me he saw her die and she was right next to me too..." a few fat tears rolled down his cheeks as she sniffed into the dirt below him, Stephanie sighed and ran a hand through her soaking wet hair, and wiped the damp strands of her hair from her forehead before muttering "And after tonight, do you really believe a word Vince tells you?"

Luke seemed to freeze in place, Stephanie smiled, she liked puffing out cynical comments like Lilly did and she loved it even more knowing she had made him think about it. Luke knew she had a point as something seemed to kick in his previously empty stomach, yet there was still one major problem.

"I can't move Stef, Vince shot me in the knees" he muttered, now that the numb grief and shock had lifted from his shoulders. Pain ebbed back into his being as he clenched his teeth in pain, Stephanie glanced down at where blood leaked from Luke's kneecaps.

"So I saw and that's why I'm here to help you move along. So are you going to move or not?" Stephanie asked with him, raising an eyebrow as Luke sighed and ran a bloodied, soaking hand through his equally bloodied and soaking hair. With a pained grunt he slowly lifted himself from the ground as Stephanie managed to drag him upright into a standing position, yet the second Luke stood tall, he gasped in pain and collapsed to the ground again (well he would have done, had his arm not been draped around Stephanie's shoulders).

"Fuck... fuck Vince, fuck Vince, fuck, fucking Vince...!" Luke cursed under his breath, as he clenched his eyes shut and tried to ride out the pain that shot up his legs.

"Can you walk?" Stephanie asked him, already feeling the strain of his weight on her weaker body.

"It hurts like hell... but I can manage it" Luke panted, beads of seat rolling down his face as he took some small and slow steps with Stephanie there to support him. Progress was painfully slow... but they could move, that's all that mattered. Stephanie's ears prickled at the approaching moans of the herd behind her and Luke, as she faced her friend.

"We need to get moving" she told him, when she realised Luke wasn't looking at her but he was looking at the dead girl on the floor... Stephanie remembered her name as Anne, as the dead girl laid there... breasts exposed, laid to rest in such an indecent way...

Without thinking Luke picked up her torn shirt and managed to place the thing gently over her small form, covering her up and giving the dead girl some decency, as he closed the girl's eyes and sighed to himself.

"I wish we had to bury her, she didn't deserve this, she was just a kid" Stephanie mumbled sadly Luke nodded in agreement, before he turned to face Stephanie again.

"I'm going to kill him Stef" Luke said flatly.

"I know you will" Stephanie replied almost instantly, Vince was no longer a friend to her, he was an enemy and after what she had seen... that wasn't Vince. That was Carver 2.0.

In silence Luke and Stephanie turned away from Anne's now covered corpse and proceeded through the thick foliage ahead of them, progress was slow and Luke kept tripping up and Stephanie suddenly realised why.

"Luke"

"Yeah?"

"Pull up your trousers, you look like an idiot" Stephanie told him, as Luke suddenly gasped and remembered all that was on display, with a reddened face he grabbed his trousers and pulled them up to his waist once again, in the old days Stephanie would have giggled herself silly at such a sight. But now... she could say she had changed a lot.

A few minutes had passed, before Luke asked a glaringly obvious question.

"I'm surprised you came to help me Stef, I mean you stole the truck, it's no secret you want to get away from the group, you could have done in the herd, you were by yourself, why didn't you?"

Stephanie was indeed alone in the herd, she couldn't find anyone in the panic when they had all been separated, she ran aimlessly (especially after the rain wiped their cover) and thought she had reached the forest alone, until she overheard Vince and Luke arguing and had crept onto the scene...

But in those moments... she had an inner debate. She didn't have to listen to what Vince and Luke were arguing about, she could have run, she could have left the group for good, they were going to hell anyway... why bother? Why stick around and grow more attached to people that she was obviously going to lose? Why go through all the pain of losing Shel, Roman and Boyd again?

"Because... leaving's selfish, I've done a lot of bad shit Luke I want to make it up to you guys. Besides I care about the group in general and not myself"

They walked on through the dark night in silence after that, Luke noticed Stephanie sounded a bit like Nick in her reply to him, about messing up and wanting redemption. And then that bit on the end about caring for the group... it sounded like Lilly...

Lilly, she taught Stephanie what true strength was, even if it hurt you ploughed on through it and Nick... Nick taught her morales and redemption could be found, even in seemingly the worst people.

Stephanie had a bit of an identity crisis, she didn't know who she really was and couldn't define her own personality, so she took after Lilly and Nick's one's, Nick may have been stupid at times, but he was right about one thing.

He and Stephanie were very much alike.

* * *

"ANNE!"

Marisol yelled her friend's name, as her voice echoed back at her in the enclosed, dark forest that stretched on as far as the Spanish woman could see. She had a faint hope that the 15 year old would come crashing through the trees at the sound of her voice... yet Marisol knew things were never that easy.

She was the only one of their remaining group still moving forward with hope, with hope to find Anne as the 4 other guys behind her trailed at a sluggish moody pace, they were several reasons for this, for this loss of hope and motivation...

Their plan... Alex's plan, it seemed like it would work at first, leave the lodge full of sick and leave a group as bait for the remaining cult members. Yes, it was an horrific act but one everyone was willing to do in order to survive, in order to reach that distant safe haven of Wellington... even when the plan went perfectly and they group sprinted away from the scene as fast as they could... the cult still found them and opened fire.

Casualties, they were several. The remaining group were forced back down the slopes of the mountain, they got separated from Anne and Alex in the madness, Marisol had reunited with the other group... or what was left of it. A broken Joshua cowering on the floor surrounded by his dead comrades, Marisol was the one who had to drag Josh out of there, so now all that remained was herself, Josh and 3 other guys Marisol didn't know the names of. She wasn't much of a people person and she didn't want to learn their names.

Because when their deaths came (which would be soon, no doubt) it would only make it harder on her.

It was already hard enough, finding Alex again, as a walker slumped up against a tree nothing but shredded remains that made up what was once his stomach, his blank white eyes looked up at a sullen Marisol. Yet it was a shaky Joshua who pulled the trigger on their leader, gasping as he did so, as he now looked down at the gory demise of their leader, torn apart by walkers... just like that.

"Let's go" was all Marisol said, as the remaining group followed her.

Marisol knew what they were thinking... all of this, this whole plan, all the horrible things they had done to get to Wellington, it all meant nothing now. The majority of the group were dead, those that were alive were the lucky one's yet everyone's luck would run out eventually. Marisol herself had taken the position as leader, but without Alex the group felt aimless, drifting onwards looking for Anne.

"H-hey... someone's over there" Josh stuttered, pointing a shaking pale finger a spot to his east, Marisol trailed the nervous man's finger as her eyes locked on a pair of legs with some jeans on... Anne's jeans...

"ANNE!" Marisol bellowed cutting through the undergrowth to get to her friend, her gut sank when she saw Anne was covered with her own white t-shirt, yet Marisol clenched onto a tiny ray of hope that her friend was simply passed out, or asleep, yet this ray of hope was cruelly extinguished when she lifted the t-shirt to see a shirtless Anne with a bullet hole in the centre of her head.

Marisol didn't say a word, she simply let this site crash over her.

However her group were more vocal, one of them swore loudly, someone vomited, Joshua screamed "ANNE!" in grief. Marisol held back her tears as she inspected the body closer... this wasn't the work of walkers like it had been with Alex...

"Damn cult must have got her" One of the men behind Marisol growled, Marisol felt a vein in her forehead throb as she snapped back at him.

"No, it wasn't the cult dispshit! For one if it was they would have shot her fifty times and not just once, and two, they haven't skinned her damn corpse" Marisol information and observations made the group pause in thought, Marisol knew had done this and so did the others.

"Are you saying...?" Josh began to question slowly, before his green eyes widened in shock as the conclusion hit him "V-Vince's group!? No way... they seemed n-nice..." he muttered.

"But we screwed them over, I knew they'd get us back in some way" One man murmured sadly.

"But to kill Anne!? Anne was fucking innocent! and look at her! they fucking raped her! they raped her and they killed her! this is fucking unforgivable!" Another man piped up angrily.

"We'll make them pay" Marisol muttered darkly, as she pulled Anne's white t-shirt over her friend for the final time, she sighed and held back the tears before regaining herself and standing up tall, a fury evident on her face.

"We make them fucking pay, if we come across them. We kill them all! We can't give them mercy now! Whether this is right or wrong, if they can kill Anne, it's clear their out to kill us all! We have to fight back!" Marisol yelled, as most of the men behind her bellowed cries of encouragement, Josh still looked a little shaky but to Marisol the situation now was as clear as could be... Anne was liked by all, her death had left a void in them all, a void that could only be replaced by hatred and vengeance.

This is why Marisol was the way she was. It wasn't because she was surrounded by hateful people. Oh no, the problem was (like she stated beforehand)

She was surrounded by too many good people.

* * *

"We have to stop here, I'm exhausted"

Christa looked back at where Rebecca struggled to hold Alvin, and then at the woods ahead of her it was silent as could be, but that didn't mean that nothing was lurking in the darkness, she didn't feel safe here.

But then again she didn't feel safe anywhere these days.

"Yeah, my feet are killin' me" Bonnie agreed as she placed herself next to Rebecca, Alvin Junior was dozing peacefully on Rebecca stomach, as the African american woman smiled and tried to get comfortable pulling out the sleeping bag she had with her, as Bonnie also tried to settle down next to them.

"I'll take first watch and keep a watch out for you ladies" Mike offered, as Bonnie beamed at him.

"Thanks Mike, for being a gentlemen" Bonnie mused, as Mike grinned back at her and scratched the back of his head.

"No problem" he muttered.

Christa pulled out her dull blue sleeping bag and tried to get comfortable within it... she muttered a last "Night" to an exhausted Bonnie and Rebecca, before she curled up in her sleeping bag and tried to sleep, stroking her stump of a hand and trying to slowly drift off to sleep, until that is someone poked her on the shoulder and she looked up to find Mike crouching above her.

"Hey, Bonnie and Rebecca are flat out" Mike whispered to her, feeling his hot breath on her neck, made Christa smile as her stomach filled with butterflies.

"Now, after everything that happened? After everyone we still have to find?" Christa asked of him, yet she wasn't her usual cynical self, she threw the questions lightly at Mike, just as she would as if she were questioning Omid.

"Especially now, I thought I'd lost you today" he muttered as Christa muttered an "alright" in response.

An hour or two later, Christa clung on Mike's bare chest as his chest rose and fell rapidly, as she listened closely to his rapidly beating heart, she smiled and pressed her own soaking face next closer to his warm chest, as his strong arms wrapped around her waist, the passion they had for each other drove them to this, especially after all that had happened with the herd.

"Mike?" Christa panted.

"Yeah?" he responded, gazing at the starry sky, past the layers of the trees as he pulled Christa closer to him.

"Why don't you just tell Bonnie, or just break up with her?" Christa asked in curiosity, as Mike paused and thought about it for a minute.

"How do I tell her Christa? She'd lose it, we've already got enough crazy fuckers on our ass, I don't want any crazy ex's as well" Mike told Christa, as the tall woman laughed and purred "I don't think Bonnie would go that mad, well at you at least... me on the other hand..." she smiled sadly as Mike muttered to her "You better keep a low profile, if Bonnie doesn't get you. No doubt Rebecca will" as Christa nodded in agreement.

"I just... you remind me a lot of my old boyfriend Mike. You were both so stupid... but funny..." she mused as Mike gazed at Christa with the bright brown eyes of his.

"You remind me of my past girlfriend, I was meant to be a fire-fighter, a hero. Someone who was meant to save her, but I watched her get ripped apart and couldn't do shit about it" he muttered, as Christa eyes were suddenly drawn to the scar and chunk missing from his ear as she asked another question.

"So... did you get those scars from trying to save her?" she muttered.

"No, I was with a group before I got to Howe's they fell apart, like our's is now. I was running away when one of the guys tried to shoot at me, bullet scraped against the side of my head, I was wary of joining groups ever since" Mike explained to her, as Christa looked back at where Bonnie, Rebecca and where AJ were sleeping peacefully.

"We might get caught for... you know. Making it this close to them" Mike mused, Christa smiled at the use of the words "making it" as Mike knew Clementine used those words, as Christa told him "You were quoting a 12 year old to describe sex, I worry about you sometimes Mike"

"I worry about you all the time" Mike cornily told her back.

Christa rolled her eyes, but let Mike embrace her never the less, after the whole failed first plan it wasn't like Christa and Mike were going to snatch AJ in the middle of the night and run off with him. Like Mike said, they had enough crazy fuckers on their ass, and Mike didn't want to end up like Exhibit A Tavia, who served as a prime example to what happened to anyone who got in the way of mama bear Rebecca. However Mike did want to enjoy some time with Christa... they both reminded each other of a piece of the past they had thought they had lost.

Both of them were trying to build something new, from the ruins they were in.

* * *

The early morning sun was a welcome warmth after the events of the previous night, Clementine awoke with a heavy head as she sniffed the air around her, well she didn't stink of vomit anymore, as she awoke she realised she could indeed smell something juicy from next to her, she could hear the crackling of a nearby fire and wiped her eyes to find Sarita happily cooking what appeared to be a raccoon.

"Good morning Clementine" Sarita mused to her, as Clementine approached the warm fire and the skinned raccoon on top of it.

"Breakfast is almost ready"Sarita told her, as Clementine smiled, glad for something to look forward too as she gazed at her surroundings, they were still in the forest but everything seemed peaceful.

"No disturbances in the night. I was worried about the others though" Sarita said sadly, no doubt still thinking of Kenny, as Clementine found herself speaking up.

"It's okay Sarita, we'll get to Wellington. and Kenny's fine, his too stubborn to die" Clementine stated as both of them laughed, no doubt they could both relate to Clementine's words, as they both knew how ridiculously stubborn Kenny could be over just about anything "Other than politics" Sarita added causing Clementine to chuckle further before the pair settled down once again, glad to have enjoyed some laughter, especially after what had happened the previous night.

After a short silence, Clementine looked up at Sarita who was cooking the raccoon "You can cook wild animals?" she asked, she never knew this before.

"That is right, when I was by myself I had to fend for myself. It's hard to break the habit now were back out in the wild, and I wanted to save our canned food" she explained to Clementine, as Clementine watched Sarita closely poke the dead animal with a stick,as Sarita asked "Have you never cooked something like this Clementine?"

"Christa did, I know you have to skin it and cook it. But Christa never told me all of it, Luke promised he would teach me though..." Clementine answered, sadly trailing off at the mention of Luke's name, as Sarita's eyes softened.

"It's okay Clementine, we know Luke didn't do it. I don't know what Vince was thinking but framing an innocent man for rape... is a horrible thing to do. I trust your word Clementine, something about Vince's tale... it didn't seem right" Sarita told her, as Clementine beamed at her.

"Thanks, but what are we going to do about Vince if we find him?" Clementine asked, as Sarita seemed stumped for an answer.

"Well... I'm not really sure, but we have to let the others know and hopefully nothing bad happens, but bad things always happen, and so far I've caused half of it" Sarita mumbled sadly, as Clementine felt a need to support her.

"It's okay, what happened, happened. It's all in the past now, besides you need to take care of the baby when he or she arrives" Clementine told the Indian woman, as her face lit up and she gazed down at her stomach.

"Thank you Clementine, I promise never to betray your trust or the others again. I just panicked and I know I have apologised but..."

"It's okay, I forgive you" Clementine cut her off, as Sarita seemed to smile in a satisfied silence once again, this silence was broken as Nick and Lilly emerged from the treeline.

"... you're lucky I'm a good shot, or else we wouldn't be having this breakfast" Lilly told a light faced Nick.

"Hey! You gotta admit I'm getting better!" Nick argued back humorously.

"Yeah... I suppose" Lilly told him, smiling at the young man, as he savoured the smell of a delicious breakfast.

"I've been teaching Nick how to shoot better, the supposed gun expert has surprisingly poor aim" Lilly informed Clementine as she took a seat by the camp-fire.

"Clementine doesn't know how to cook wild animals, I offered to teach her too, seems like there is a lot of learning to be done" Sarita piped up, somewhat shyly, expecting some sort of backlash, yet Nick merely muttered "I guess that's a good idea, I could use some lessons too".

Lilly raised her eyebrows.

"You don't know how to cook wild animals?" she asked in disbelief.

"Well... no. Never really needed it, considering I've always been in a group, or had food provided for me..." Nick informed Lilly, who face-palmed herself and muttered "How the hell you're still alive after three years of this shit, is damn mystery to me" as Nick argued back humorously, Sarita was smiling as she pulled out a map and shared with Clementine the route north. The four of them were in a good mood and had a solid aim to get to Wellington.

* * *

Arvo and Sarah didn't have the bes night's sleep, they both squeezed into Sarah's small sleeping bag (as Arvo lost his bag-pack in the herd) and tried to rest comfortably on lumpy ground, both of them discovering it was harder to sleep when the person next to you kept fidgeting all night. However both of them managed to cuddle closer to one another and used their combined body warmth to get some hours of sleep on that cold October night.

With their backs aching, Arvo and Sarah stood up tall the next day, Sarah got rather confused by the map, but Arvo managed to direct them in a northern direction, as the pair slowly waded their way through the trees.

"Do you think the others are okay Arvo?" Sarah asked him after some a period of silence.

Arvo didn't reply, instead he simply gestured for Sarah to come closer and when she did he leaned in and kissed her deeper than he had done beforehand, Sarah became lost in the kiss and when they broke apart Arvo muttered "I am sure they are fine. Do not worry about them Sarah".

Sarah looked up at him, her cheeks pink.

"I-I... I love you..." she suddenly spluttered out, that was what Disney princesses always said to the men they kissed and Sarah felt inclined to let Arvo know that, the Russian teenager only smiled back at her.

"I love you too" he muttered back, happy as he could be. In all honesty he didn't want the others to be okay... he just wanted himself and Sarah to remain this way, alone and together, he was happiest like this. No Nick to kill, No Christa to fuss over him... out here he was his own man.

But he knew it could never last.

However for an hour it did last, as Sarah and Arvo chatted occasionally, the peaceful forest bearing them no ills, as they were no walkers to be seen, Arvo was as happy as could be, until rough male voices suddenly cut through the quiet air, Arvo froze in place, as Sarah clutched his arm tightly.

"Can you hear that?" she whispered, as Arvo nodded, he tried to carefully edge towards a tree, but they emerged to quickly.

Arvo and Sarah stood facing Marisol's group.

Arvo instantly tried to reach for his gun, but in his panic, he ended up dropping it in the dirt... the group in front of him raised their guns... there was no time, Arvo sprinted off to the left, until a scream from his right stopped him.

"ARVO HELP!"

He paled, he had left Sarah behind! He looked back at where the girl he knew he had grown to love, stood surrounded by these hostile strangers pointing guns at her, they were getting closer... Sarah's eyes were locked on Arvo's... they were getting ever closer...

Something in him snapped. He turned and ran. Leaving Sarah to her fate.

"A-arvo..." she whimpered, as Marisol turned to a man next to her.

"She's just a girl, I don't think she killed Anne" Marisol told the man next to her, as he nodded as Sarah collapsed to her knees and begged "Please! Please don't hurt me!"

"She's annoying me!" a man yelled over to Marisol.

"and she's part of the group that killed Anne! Are you just gonna let her get her get away!" another man snapped at Marisol, as she sighed and looked down coldly at the 16 year old in front of her.

"Please, don't hurt me. I'm just trying to find my friends" she murmured, she knew who these people were. She was still mad at them for leaving her group to die, but in the face of so many of them... she couldn't tell them what she truly felt.

Or that she had left their leader to die.

"We can't stoop that low Marisol! Killing her makes us no better than them!" Josh yelled, as Marisol nodded.

"You're right, killing a kid is something I can't do" Marisol muttered sadly as Sarah looked up at the woman in hope, yet Marisol's face remained cold as she muttered her next words.

"But that doesn't mean we can't leave a message, if she's looking for her group, no doubt they'll be looking for her, we need to let them know, we don't take kindly to child murderers" Marisol muttered darkly as the 3 other guys grinned in a devilish manner, before they pounced on a screaming Sarah, as she kicked at them wildly, as pairs of rough fingers ripped off her coat and peeled off her trousers...

"MARISOL NO! YOU'RE ONLY GOING TO PISS THEM OFF EVEN MORE!" Josh yelled in horror, as the 3 guys in front of him proceeded to lower their trousers, as Sarah used every ounce of her strength to try and wrestle them off, but one of them pinned down her arms and another man managed to pin down her legs as she screamed and sobbed...

"Their already pissed off at us and would kill us at first sight, this is to send a message to them. That were not some group that can just be fucked over and trampled on, you either take action or you die, that's the way the world is now" Marisol growled to a whimpering Josh as he watched the rape occur right in front of his very eyes, only him and Marisol stood watching the scene...

"Besides it's not killing her. It's an eye for an eye" Marisol muttered coldly.

"An eye for an eye makes the world blind" Josh thought to himself, disgusted at what his group had sunk too, but he could hardly leave them... he was scared of dying. Him doing nothing about it, made him a worse person than his group in general.

_He guessed this world truly was as cold and hate fuelled, as Marisol made it out to be._


	23. Blow Me One Last Kiss

**A/N: Okay, considering what happened last chapter I decided to add an M rated warning in the summary of the story (that and the gore in this story) do make it a darker read in some places. Also, about last chapter I feel that's as dark and as messed up as the story will go, however do not expect sunshine and rainbows from this chapter onwards. **

**Transformers g1's-prime- Always expect the worst, it seems a lot of people are against what happened last chapter and I seemed to have crossed a line, so I do apologise for causing any offence (to you and any reader or reviewer) but rest assured I'll give more warnings in the future if messed up scenes are oncoming and to answer your questions...**

**1) Yes, comics ftw, the show is good but the comics are the original source material.**

**2) Considering Lee loses his arm anyway it would be a good idea, also I would have many other ideas (if following the comic storyline) Kajtaa's suicide could be like Carol's in the comics, maybe after Kajtaa loses Duck to that serial killer who hacks of people's heads. Lori and Carley could have a rivalry, and if season 2 characters are involved in this story than have Rebecca have this rivalry with Lori. I can see Nick and Billy becoming friends, Bonnie and Mike betraying the group like Patricia did, then having to make it up to the group... the ideas are endless, I'll PM you some if you like. **

**3) Show characters? I would say TV show Carol as she is badass, but then again I find comic Carol more interesting, as their are already enough badasses in the group and not everyone can be strong in an apocalypse. However I would say add Daryl and Beth as they are original TV show characters, maybe T-Dog as well (give him more of a role) **

**Hope these answers helped! **

**ffapathy- Loved your review, especially about the rash actions of everyone having consequences later on, I especially liked the point you brought up about Sarah, if she hadn't left Alex behind then she would have (no doubt) been spared what happened to her, as Alex would take leadership and Marisol's group would realise that not everyone is all that bad. They could have even teamed up... but alas there is no second chance this time around and realistically people make mistakes as they are all human. The game does a brilliant job at presenting to us what could have been... if only people had made the right choices.**

**AquaDestinysEmbrace- Thanks! I'm glad I'm over the 300 review mark! and thanks for your continued support (and again letting me use Anne as a character in this story).**

**Chameishida- Thanks for the vince pic, you really make him look evil and it's how I imagine him as he was plotting Luke's downfall, I took your advice on the trigger warning, I added the M rated warning on the summary, so people reading know what to expect (especially as things go to ruin ever further) and also the last part of your review made me laugh... of all the people Sarita has killed the raccoon earns the RIP.**

**Rebloxic- Thank you for the 9.5, and thanks for your continued support! **

**and thanks for everyone else who reviewed and read this story so far!**

**And after this chapter a new poll will open, for the characters that remain after this chapter (dun, dun, dun!) as you can guess this is another popularity poll, so vote for your favourite character! **

* * *

"15"

"Get lost"

Lilly laughed at Nick's reply to her statement, the two of them were playing a game to get to know each other better, one of Nick's questions being the age in which she had her first kiss in which her reply of "15" seemed to have Nick in disbelief.

"What? What's wrong with having my first kiss at 15?" Lilly asked of him, with a small smile on her face as Nick seemed to rack his brains for a response.

"Nothing, I was just wondering" he replied vaguely as Lilly smirked at the raven haired man.

"Hmm... you wouldn't happen to be jealous because I had my first kiss at a younger age than you?" Lilly quizzed of him, as Nick's dark eyebrows descended slightly over his eyes, as a look of annoyance crossed his face.

"I was 18 when I had my first kiss, it doesn't bother me" Nick told her matter of factly, in a stern voice that told Lilly that he certainly was bothered by that fact, as she rolled her eyes and muttered "So you were a slow burner then, nothing wrong with that" Lilly was beginning to get to know Nick a lot better by his facial expressions rather and his actions rather than his words. So although he didn't thank Lilly for her compliment, the way his lips twitched upwards slightly told her that he appreciated it.

In fact Lilly already had Nick figured out. She knew his type, the façade of the "hard man" was one she had seen many times when she worked in the military base. The real hard men were dick-heads. The one's that weren't were even bigger dick-heads, as they always tried to pretend to be something they weren't. Lilly was used to working around men and knew how to handle them, so when she first saw Nick trying to play hard man in front of the group she groaned and listed him down as another no-lifer, (even though his words had helped her into the group).

Lilly would usually snap at these type of guys, or she hardly bothered with them... but then she grew to know Nick a little better... and there was more to him than she originally thought. He looked after Sarah and showed the same sort of weakness as her... vulnerability. Someone trying to hide what he truly felt, it was similar to her, she guessed that was why she had grown to like him as much as she had.

"So who was the guy you first kissed?" Nick asked, Lilly made her observations, now he was interested to know a little more about her. Lilly tried hard not to make her smile so wide.

"Well, he was idiot he had a crush on me for a while and kept pestering me... so eventually I kissed him to shut him the fuck up. We didn't last long together, he was a funny guy, but he could be annoying as hell, drove me away from him" Lilly explained as Nick listened in eagerly (Clementine and Sarita listened in from behind them).

"Sounds like my first kiss, only the guy who kissed me took it a lot more seriously, I was lucky to get away from him" Sarita chipped in.

"Guys can be persistent, as Nick is with Stephanie" Lilly said suddenly to see Nick's reaction, his instant beet red face certainly made Lilly laugh.

"Hey! Were just good friends! Now isn't the time for romance or anything like that!" Nick snapped, as Lilly only threw him hands on hips "Umm-huh?" as a helpless Nick turned to Sarita.

"Sarita, I know I've argued with you a lot. But from your point of view me and Stephanie are just friends, right?" Nick begged of her as Sarita paused and muttered "Well... I always see you two together and you are always laughing and joking with one another, a bit like me and Kenny. Maybe there is something..." Sarita mused, her old "cupid" mode returning as Nick's face sunk, before he turned back to Lilly.

"I don't know what you're embarrassed about Nick, she's a pretty girl and she's young and been through a lot. When I spoke to her, I certainly got the impression that she seems to adore you..."

These choice of words made Nick's face as pink as raw meat, as he remained silent for a while, Sarita noticed Clementine's long face.

"Are you okay Clementine, you look bored" Sarita said, as Clementine groaned.

"All this kissing stuff is just gross" Clementine moaned, her legs were aching and she was in "one of those" moods.

"Are you sure Clem? No boy you like or anything?" Lilly asked her in jest, as Clementine stuck her tongue out and pretended to vomit on the ground.

"No" Clementine responded as deadpan as ever, as Nick, Lilly and Sarita all laughed at her response as Lilly muttered "God, I remember being the same at 12 years old, where did my childhood go...?" she asked of the sky, before she turned to face Nick once again "So come then lover boy, who was your first kiss? did she happen to have black hair and blue eyes as well?" she inquired as Nick muttered his truthful response.

"No, blonde girl forgot her name. We were both pissed as hell. It was at a party and Luke set me up with her, it was messy kiss. I thought I even bit her at one point..."

At Nick's recollection Lilly and Sarita burst into fits of laughter, as they imagined Nick biting the face of a mystery girl, as Nick went red in embarrassment.

"Can we please talk about something else?" Clementine begged from the rear of the group, now having the mental image of Nick kissing (or biting) some mystery blonde girl (who she imagined looking like Natasha, just with brown eyes for some reason) stuck in her head.

"Oh come on Clem, what else would we talk about, the trees?" Sarita asked of her, as Clementine's eyes were drawn to a moth on a nearby tree.

"At least tree's can't kiss" Clementine said pausing in her tracks and reaching out her hand too touch this moth, hoping her fingers would brush against the insect. But just as her fingers were inches away from the moth...

"AH!"

A distant scream of pure terror echoed through the trunks of the tree's, the moth took flight at the sound as Clementine leapt back, that scream... it sounded like...

"Did you hear that?" she asked of her group, the laughter died on their tongues as Lilly asked her "Hear what?" before another distant scream echoed through the forest. Lilly's laid-back expression died on her face, as her serious expression took over as she lifted her gun. Nick and Sarita also heard the scream and lifted their guns in caution, following the trend in her group Clementine reached for her small pistol...

"Noooo..." came the distant howl, it was then Clementine recognised the wailing voice and so did Nick by the way his eyes widened.

"SARAH!" He bellowed crashing through the forest, running as fast as his legs would carry him in general direction of Sarah's screaming. Clementine felt her blood run cold as she tried to run after Nick, but he was going too fast... she could only trail after Lilly's form who was shouting after him "NICK WAIT!" to no avail, Sarita was close to Clementine as the Indian woman ran at steady pace, no doubt thinking of her child's welfare.

* * *

Nick couldn't think straight, each one of Sarah's pained squeals sent him running forward at a greater pace into the forest became a green and brown blur, he could only think of one thing.

He had to get to Sarah. Someone was hurting her.

He was getting closer to her... he bellowed her name once again "SARAH!" in which he received a response of a pained squeal of "NICK!?" which only propelled him to run on faster, he was nearly there, nearly...

Without any warning his legs tripped on something and he went flying, sprawling to the ground, his face grazed against the undergrowth ignoring the pain in his throbbing nose, Nick lifted himself to his feet once again, his fall had allowed Lilly to catch up with him, as the two managed to burst onto the small clearing in the forest.

Nick's eyes found Sarah's instantly, who lay on the forest floor... Nick had nightmares seeing Sarah... like this. His nightmare had come to life right in front of his eyes, Sarah was frozen in place, bruised all over as she tried to squeak something to Nick, her finger pointed towards the rustling bushes to his left.

Lilly caught an eye observing them through the bushes, she saw the glint of a gun...

"GET DOWN!" she roared as the gunshot went off, the resounding BANG made Sarah scream as she covered her ears. Nick felt Lilly push him to the ground, as he found the back of his neck suddenly coated in warm blood, he didn't want to look up, but found himself doing so anyway...

Lilly had been shot, the bullet went straight through her neck.

Her brown eyes widened as her gun clattered onto the floor next to her, she tried to hold a shaking hand to her neck to cover the wound, as pints of blood spilled from her neck, as it also dribbled from her mouth as she whimpered in pain and terror, the brunette woman collapsed... as Nick caught her in his arms.

"LILLY!" He roared in grief, feeling the first tears fall from his eyes, moments ago they were joking about first kisses, and now... and now this? Nick couldn't process this, it wasn't happening. It simply wasn't happening, even if Lilly was dying she was a tough survivor. She would go out killing someone to save the group, she wasn't meant to die like this! She wasn't meant to shot and then just... die! No, this couldn't happen.

Lilly's cough brought a shell shocked Nick back down to earth, as he held the weak and blood soaked woman in his hands.

"It's all going to be okay Lilly, you're... going... to be fine" Nick sobbed as he watched her slowly slide away from life.

"I...I..." Lilly tried to say, choking on her own blood, as she managed to lift one pale, blood-drenched hand to Nick's face and brush it gently against his stubble as their eyes locked. Lilly felt comforted, warm and happy in those last moments, oh if only she had made her move on Nick earlier... but this was her final indulgence and she wouldn't have it any other way.

She had joined this group, as a despised, grumpy, murdering former bandit.

She had left this group, as a well loved, sensible, and logical member of the team.

She was leaving the world, with many people out there that loved her and looked up to her, she had found her redemption and in those last moments she didn't feel any pain, she just smiled... knowing Lee, her father, and most of her old group would be waiting for her on the other side. and she was dying in the arms of the man she loved, compared to what she was like a year ago... she couldn't have asked for it any better.

_"I'm happy"_ Lilly croaked, a final happy tear sliding down her face.

and then she went still.

* * *

"Lilly! No! Come on! Don't do this to me! Goddamnit Lilly you're made of tougher stuff than this! Lilly!? LILLY COME THE FUCK ON! GET UP! COME ON! YOU'RE NOT GOING TO LET A STUPID BULLET KILL YOU! LILLY! FUCKING HELL LILLY WAKE UP! WAKE UP...!

Nick trailed off dissolving into some very real and audible tears as he shook the dead woman in his arms, Clementine heard these screams of grief, she emerged on the scene to find Nick, cradling Lilly's dead body and Sarah... Sarah was lying there weeping openly in such a state...

Her gut sank, Sarita gasped when she saw all of the horrible sights yet out of the corner of her eye Clementine noticed movement as she caught a glimpse of a familiar pair of thick glasses, she pointed her finger towards him.

"You" she growled, the hatred in her tone certainly drew Nick's interest as he looked up.

A curious Arvo had crept back onto the scene, now he saw that was a mistake. The panicked teenager had come back to try and help Sarah somehow... he still had his tiniest pistol on him, he raised it slowly expecting to shoot the people who were going to harm Sarah from afar, it took him a while to muster whatever courage he had left, to come back and help his girlfriend.

But by the way Nick and Clementine were glaring openly at him now, he regretted it instantly as he backed away into the treeline once again.

"YOU-FUCKING-RAPIST-MURDERER!" Nick screamed so loud that the crows in the nearby trees took flight, as Nick charged towards Arvo, the pistol was in his hands, it looked as if he was running away, for Nick, in those moments of rage he had lost Lilly and now Sarah was... he would kill this twerp. He would rip him to shreds in the same way Luke ripped Carver to shreds!

Arvo screamed and ran openly, he turned back and raised his shaky hand to Nick's form, he was approaching fast, all Arvo had to die was shoot Nick once in the head and it would be over... he could easily kill Clementine and maybe Sarita. Then he could take Sarah and run... simply run... live with her. Have his happily ever after that he had long dreamed about. His life all depended on one shot.

He aimed down the nuzzle, his aim shaky as he fired.

and the bullet wedged itself into a nearby tree.

Arvo felt white hot panic soar through his veins.

Game over.

* * *

There wasn't time to fire another shot, Nick grabbed Arvo from the top of his hair and threw the teenage boy back into the clearing with so much force, Arvo felt something crack in his back, as he screamed in agony before Nick was on top of him.

"NO! HE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! NICK STOP!" Sarah wailed, but there was no stopping a demented Nick, who used his fists to pummel into Arvo's face, Arvo's thick glasses snapped and the thick glass embedded itself into Nick's knuckles and Arvo's eyes, Nick's hands began to sting... but Arvo was in agony as the glass shards cut into his eyes, as his grey globes plopped and Arvo wailed in agony as his vision went black as the teenager was blinded for life...

"STOP! NICK NOOOOO!" Sarah screamed trying to run over to Nick, but Sarita held her back and muttered "He did a horrible thing to you Sarah. He deserves to suffer" she muttered darkly as Nick continued to punch away, Arvo's face was now blood red, as Sarah watched a guy she saw as an older brother slowly beat the boy she loved to death... it as traumatic to say the least.

"NO! HIS GOT IT ALL WRONG! NICK HE DIDN'T HURT ME! STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT! ANOTHER GROUP HURT ME! ARVO PANICKED AND RAN BUT HE DIDN'T HURT ME! PLEASE STOP IT! STOP IT! YOU'LL KILL HIM!" Sarah was screaming at the top of her lungs, covering her ears as she sobbed on, Nick didn't stop, whether or not Arvo had hurt Sarah... he had sure as hell tried to kill Nick and he left Sarah to be raped... that was unforgivable in Nick's eyes.

Besides, he was in too much of a frenzied fury to stop now.

He kept on punching away, Arvo didn't struggle anymore, as Nick punched on and on and on... Arvo didn't breathe anymore, he had no mouth or nose left to breathe with. Nick didn't need a blunt object to ruin Arvo's face, only when his knuckles scraped against Arvo's skull did the young man stop his beating, panting heavily (and while still numb to everything around him) started to pull the several strands of glass out of his ruined knuckles, after a short while he finally looked back at his frozen group. Sarita had wrapped a coat around Sarah to keep the girl warm, yet right now Sarah blood ran colder than ice.

Her and Nick locked eyes.

"YOU FUCKING MURDERER!" Sarah squealed, the use of the profanity towards Nick made everyone in the group flinch, because Sarah never swore.

Nick blinked, he looked down at the boy he had murdered in cold blood and then back at his ruined and blood drenched fists, he had done this. Mauled Arvo to death with his bare hands in a blind rage.

He began to calm down slightly, the amount of hatred Sarah had in her voice towards him... it stung him.

"Sarah..." he croaked, as Sarah glared back at him.

"SHUT UP! YOU ANIMAL! YOU FUCKING ANIMAL! THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE NICK! YOU ARE A FUCKING ANIMAL! YOU KILLED HIM BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T LIKE HIM! I TOLD YOU HE DIDN'T HURT ME! BUT YOU KILLED HIM ANYWAY!" Sarah screamed, tears of rage now pouring down her face, as all Clementine and Sarita could do was watch on the silence.

"I DID IT TOO PROTECT YOU! I DIDN'T WANT TO LOSE YOU THE WAY I JUST LOST LILLY!" Nick roared back, gesturing at Lilly's corpse. Sarah seemed to choke back a sob, as she looked over at Lilly, before she managed to stand on her feet and charged at Nick.

"YOU FUCKING MURDERER, I'LL... I'LL KILL YOU TOO!" She bellowed, as she used her hands to punch and scratch at Nick's face, Nick grunted and used his hands to hold Sarah back, as she screamed bloody murder and tried to kick him, yet she seemed to run out of energy as she simply glared at Nick.

"Sarah, I know what I did was wrong...and fuck..." Nick said as more genuine tears began to slide down his face as he weakly muttered "I, just... I just I didn't want to lose you as well! I'm sorry okay? I am so sorry!" Nick wailed as he hugged Sarah, the 16 year old was already crying but cried harder as she buried her face in Nick's shoulder, as she seemed to quickly forgive her older brother figure, after everything she had been through... all she wanted was a hug.

"I.. did bad things too... I..." Sarah sobbed, as Nick pulled her closer and whispered "Don't worry, don't worry Sarah. I'm here now, I'm going to look after you" he stated as Sarah allowed herself to reunite with Nick, yes she was still mad with him... and she grieved for Arvo. But Arvo had left her... Nick was never going to leave her and now they had both done bad things, after all the violence and hate she had seen, she just wanted some happiness...

As Nick and Sarah embraced, Sarita's eyes were drawn to the bushes as a lone figure of a man emerged as he weakly muttered "Don't shoot" like many people in this clearing, Sarita and Clementine noticed he was crying as well. Nick and Sarah slowly broke apart as they gazed at this new figure...

"It's Josh, I was part of the group back at the lodge that left you... the girl... Sarah was right. It wasn't that Arvo boy's fault. My group... did what they did to her" he murmured sadly as Nick looked as if he was about to pummel him, Sarah noticed this and placed her hand in Nick's blood soaked and one and sobbed to him "Please, no more" as Nick paused and simply decided to glare at Josh instead.

"I watched all of that... I couldn't just stand by anymore! What my group did was wrong! They all fled but I had to come back... I couldn't go down that road... I had to apologise to you... I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE! I SHOT LILLY OKAY! I PANICKED! BUT NOW I REALISE HOW WRONG ALL THAT WAS...!" Josh's outburst made Clementine go numb as she looked down at Lilly's corpse, the young man looked at a seething Nick, as fat tears rolled endlessly from his green eyes.

"I can't keep running anymore... I can't take it! Please... I am begging you! Forgive me! he pleaded of Nick. Nick could only stare at him and he never got the time to answer, because someone else answered for Nick.

BANG

Josh clutched his stomach.

BANG

He screamed in pain as a bullet wedged itself in his shoulder.

BANG

Again in the stomach.

BANG

This time through the neck.

BANG

Through the cheek.

BANG

Through the leg, Josh collapsed onto the floor. Bleeding out, as he twitched weakly on the floor.

BANG

Through the skull, Josh went still.

BANG

Another shot in back, Josh's coprse moved slightly.

BANG

Again someone was simply shooting into a corpse now.

BANG

"Clementine stop this!" Sarita begged, as Clementine's hate filled eyes were locked on Josh's corpse, she continued to fire away until her gun clicked emptily, and she cursed under her breath, she didn't feel much remorse as she looked down at the dead man, even if he had apologised, he was the reason Lilly was dead. He had stolen an old friend of her's from her. Clementine's grief had quickly turned into an uncontrollable rage as she shot down the man.

"Clem... what the fuck?" Nick asked her, Sarah and Sarita looked just as shocked.

"Were all as bad as each other now" was all Clementine could say, as Nick, Sarah and Sarita looked down.

Clementine had killed Josh, Sarah had killed Alex, Nick had killed Arvo, Sarita had killed Randy all in cold blood. There was nothing to say for a while, as Clementine realised how low her group had sank in the space of a few minutes of Lilly's death.

"We need to keep moving now" Sarita finally said, as Nick seemed to regain himself and muttered "Yeah" as he helped Sarah put her clothes back on, keeping a very close on the shell shocked girl, they were all shell shocked at the moment, at what they had done and what they had seen.

Clementine didn't know why, but she felt (as she knew she was becoming slightly unhinged) she pulled Lilly's hair bobbles from her hair, leaving her frizzy and curly black locks sticking out in many angles, her hair was still fairly short but looked wild, as Clementine bent over Lilly's corpse, she placed the hair bobbles on Lilly's chest and muttered "Thank you for letting me have these Lilly" before she stood up again.

"We should bury her" Sarah said looking at Lilly with sad eyes.

Sarita looked around at the other bodies and muttered "We should bury them all, they were all human and as they are no walkers around we have the time to pay our respects" she announced, she expected some sort of backlash from Nick or Clementine but Nick simply muttered "Sounds like a plan" as he began to use one end of his gun to dig through the soil, they didn't make a very big hole in the earth, but it was big enough to fit three bodies inside of it, as the group silently rolled the corpses into the earth.

Sarita wanted to do this to prove they still had some humanity, Sarah screamed when Arvo and Lilly began to move, it was only then that Nick realised their brains hadn't been properly destroyed, and it was Nick who fired the final two shots to put them to rest, as Sarah openly wept onto Nick's shoulder. As Clementine watched Sarita slowly pour the soil back over Lilly, Arvo and Josh's bodies, she looked down into the grave.

An hour passed as Sarita patted the flat earth above the bodies, wiping her soil coated hands on her coat, she muttered "Here the cult won't get them, they can be at peace" she told them, as Nick nodded, as the four of them stared down at the patch of earth for a while.

"Anyone have any last words for them?" Sarita asked.

Nick sighed and muttered "Thanks Lilly, thanks for everything. You... you made me happy too" he eyes seemed to get glassy, before he regained himself and stood up tall, Sarah managed to choke out "I'm sorry this had to happen to you... that it had to happen to you all". Clementine looked down at the grave but couldn't muster up a word to say, as Sarita sighed and muttered "Okay then, let's move" as she led the group through the densely packed trees. Each of them silent, ashamed of themselves and grieving... Clementine looked up at the bright orange evening sun...

This day had been crappier than the last one. Clementine wondered how much longer she could cope with this.

Looking at the sun, she realised how pretty it truly was, she could imagine it now, the motor inn group, they'd all be waiting and Lilly would be joining them, all old faces, Mark, Larry, Kajtaa, Duck, Carley and Lee... they would all be there to welcome Lilly. Only her (and possibly Kenny) were absent.

"Thank you Lilly, say Hi to Lee for me" Clementine muttered to the sun above her.

She moved on after her group with a heavy heart, surviving was only getting tougher and turning them into worse people.


	24. Out In The Open

**A/N: Okay on with the story! and as for the poll it seems like Clem is the favourite by far, followed by Nick and Sarah, there is also some Sarita love out there which I wasn't expecting as I thought (after everything she had done) people still despised her somewhat, but I'm glad that's not the case, as you'll all soon learn redemption is going to become a major theme in this story. **

**FunFX2012- Thanks for you review and it seemed like many people hated Arvo for leaving Sarah **

**ffapathy- I feel bad now, considering I made your OC a scum-bag who killed your original favourite character,but originally (this was before the OC's came into the picture) the plan was that Arvo would be the one to harm Sarah (to spite Nick after Nick killed his sister) as Arvo lost his mind and only pretended to love Sarah, so his betrayal of her would break her completely and enraged Nick would find out and chase down and kill Arvo, Arvo would try to fight back... and lose and die. Lilly would be dead at this point anyhow, as she was originally meant to be killed off in the earlier shootout by the Russians, Nick would kill Vitali and Natasha only cementing his rivalry with Arvo further... but yeah... sorry for going on. But there have been so many changes to this story from what I originally had planned I can't help but discuss them, however, thanks for another great review! **

**Lockdown- Glad you think that, if the characters you hated all died it would make for a boring story, they are needed for conflict and to challenge the characters you like. (E.g. The stranger from the game, I hated him but he still made question what I did, which I thought were the right choices). and thanks for liking the chapters! **

**Chameishida- The bob squad? That made me laugh, Clem's hair is down indeed, I tried to imagine her looking slightly more unhinged and wild with twigs sticking from her etc... to show her slow mental decline. and as for the raccoon I suppose you have a point (here's to seeing the raccoon in season 3!) couldn't get a link to the fanart you showed me but I'm sure I'll love it when I see it, as for the weather I imagine it being very cloudy and cold, with lots of rain/sleet as (as the starks would say) "Winter is coming..." **

**Kristal-Dynamite- Thanks! I like that you're enjoying the Nick/Sarah in this fic.**

**Rebloxic- So close to a 10... anyway thanks for your review! and a lot of people seem to be shocked/upset about Lilly dying, but I wanted to show even the survivor you think is the safest can die at any moment, and all it takes is a single bullet (well, expect for Nick whose survived God knows how many bullet wounds by this point...) **

**AquaDestinysEmbrace- Holy shit indeed and yep Sarah swore, as I can imagine Clementine shyly telling Sarah "You said a swear..." **

**Transformers g1's-prime- Thanks for your review and I was glad to give you some advice for your story (sounds like it's shaping up to be awesome!) **

**and thanks everyone else for reading/voting in the poll!**

* * *

October in Virginia sure could be cold.

That was the only thought Clementine had as she rubbed hands together trying to generate some sort of friction to warm her ice blocks of hands, as she followed Sarita's foamy reflective turquoise coat (which matched the colour of her old jacket) further into the dark woods ahead of them. Clementine's ears stung less than they should have done, maybe this was because her growing strands of curly hair now covered her ears. Yes... maybe now walkers could grab her hair easier, but she would have to sort out her hair problem later...

For now she was too busy bathing in silence around her.

No one had spoken since they had left Lilly, Josh and Arvo's grave behind, Clementine felt nothing but a numb sort of anger cloud her being as she shot at Josh relentlessly, even when he was dead she continued to shoot at him... to destroy him. All she knew in those moments is that he had killed Lilly, Lilly was one of her last living links to the past. A voice of reason among so many panicked one's... Josh had robbed Clementine of a piece of her past. Lilly had been there right from the start, all the way back at the drug-store, the St. John's dairy and the bandit attacks... to have this massive chunk ripped from her... after a miracle reunion. Clementine just lost it, she shot at Josh and felt no regret at all.

That was until she saw how horrified and disgusted Sarah, Nick and Sarita were with her.

Her numbness faded, leaving nothing but guilt in it's place, that man had panicked and made a common mistake people made in those dark days. He actually had the decency (rather than to flee and stay safe) but to be brave and come back and try to apologise, knowing what he had done was wrong.

and Clementine was the monster who didn't give him the redemption he deserved.

That could have been Nick, or Sarita, they had both panicked and shot people... Clementine now knew she was no better than the bandits in the woods who tried to kill her friends. Wasn't she the one who stood up and protected Eddie? when he made the exact same mistake as Josh? that humanity she had thought she had gained... she had lost it. They weren't the good guys, but they weren't the bad guys either... in real life such black and white visionary was none-existent. It was easier beforehand, she was safe with Lee. Then she was safe with Christa and Omid... then the cabin group and then it was a fight against Carver and his goons. It was clear then whose side she was on. The fight against something inhuman was so obvious back then...

Now, out here. A strange new realisation was coming over Clementine, sure the 12 year old had been through a lot but coming this far... before she had simply watched her group get whittled down to nothingness until she was forced to end her own life. But she died with a clean conscious, the worst thing she had done was murder Arvo in cold blood... and speaking of the Russian Teenager, Clementine wasn't disgusted at Nick for what he did.

Besides her hands were just as dirty, she had shot Arvo the same way she had shot Josh. In this second chance scenario, Clementine wasn't stopping the inevitable.

She had just delayed it.

"I'm getting tired, can we stop here?" Sarah finally decided to ask timidly, breaking the hours long silence that had hovered over their small group.

Sarita stopped and looked up at the falling sun in the indigo sky, the silent forest around her and thick foliage and high destiny of tall pine trees around them. Peering through the treeline, the only things Sarita could make out were the dark outlines of bushes and distant tree's as the hooting of owls soothed the Indian woman's ears. It was peaceful here, they should have been safe.

"Okay, I'll take first watch" Sarita announced (seemingly leading the group, as she was the most stable of the four at the moment) Clementine found herself collapse into a exhausted heap on the forest floor, as she rested her weary and aching feet.

Nick and Sarah cast themselves quite a distance from Clementine, as the 12 year old saw Sarah pull out bandages to deal with Nick's still heavily red knuckles, Clementine watched (in boredom and with nothing else appealing to look at) Sarah try to dab a wet cloth on Nick's knuckles, the young man hissed in pain every so often.

"Are you okay?" came a concerned, maternal voice from behind her. Clementine turned to find Sarita had set up a campfire already, and (with nothing else for her to do) had now seemingly wondered over here to check on Clementine.

"No" Clementine found herself saying sadly. Her eyes drooping as they connected to the ground, as she watched a small spider scurry across a small piece of bark in the dirt.

Sarita didn't know what to say, she looked at the unlit campfire and then back at Clementine again, she was determined to get the girl's mind off what had happened today (and Sarita needed a break from all this misery as well) so rather than muttering any words of fake encouragement like "It will all be okay" or "It wasn't your fault, he deserved it" instead she offered Clementine with something else to think about.

"The camp-fire is empty, why don't you come and help me hunt for something we can have for dinner tonight?"

Clementine looked up, rather interested in this offer. It wasn't something she expected the gentle Sarita to say, but then again Sarita wasn't exactly gentle anymore. In the same way Clementine wasn't innocent any more.

"Sure" Clementine responded. As Sarita beamed down at her.

Clementine regretted what she did, but at least she still had a will to go on and friends to help her at times like these.

* * *

"Here?"

Stephanie was frustrated at the slow progress her and Luke were making, they spent the previous night asleep on the cold forest floor with nothing but their thin sleeping bags to shield them from the growing winter gales.

And tonight it would seem they would meet a similar fate.

"Can't you go on?" Stephanie asked Luke almost cruelly, she couldn't help it. She had been practically dragging him for the last couple of hours and Stephanie wanted to find a roof over their heads before she stopped to properly treat Luke's wounds, unfortunately that didn't appear to be the case as she gazed sadly at the never ending pine trees in front of her.

She looked down at Luke, his face was paler, every movement of his leg seem to make him wheeze in agony, his brown eyes were scrunched shut in pain, as he could only reply to Stephanie's cruel question with a nod, sweat soaked his face and Stephanie had to slowly lower him to the ground. It was the same process that they had done for lunch and toilet breaks, they sat in silence, ate, or did whatever they needed too and then kept on moving. To Stephanie she was sure she was heading north... but there still wasn't a trace of the others, this fact worried the young raven haired woman.

"Well, we better get comfortable" Stephanie stated, only to find Luke looking up at her nervously, no not looking at her. Looking at a spot behind her! Stephanie whipped around just in time to see around 3 haggard looking grey skinned wolves sneaking up on her silently, her heart leaped into her mouth. As she locked eyes with one of the wolves that began to growl quietly at her...

She didn't waste any time, (thankful she still had her gun in hand) she pulled down on the trigger, as a resounding bang rang through the air, as one of the wolves whined loudly, Stephanie's bullet landing near it's feet, as the wolf scurried off at lighting speed, taking after their fleeing partner the other two wolves also turned and ran into the undergrowth, when Stephanie was certain they were gone she let out a sigh of relief.

"They must have been tailin' us, waitin' for us to stop so they could strike" Luke croaked out, his throat was dry as he reached inside his backpack to drink the freshwater in his canteen.

"Looks like we better keep guard, in case they come back" Stephanie added, before she groaned knowing another long night was ahead of her. Massaging her aching shoulder (where Luke had been leaning on it all day) she wearily pulled out a few bandages and peroxide from her bagpack, she noticed Luke was looking (with widened eyes) at the peroxide.

"This is gonna suck" he commented dryly, looking down at his ruby red kneecaps, they already stung enough as it was...

* * *

"...Well we got maybe a week's food left. Hopefully by then we're back with the others, or have found some more. If not, were gonna have to start huntin' food" Bonnie told Rebecca sadly, the two women were cropped up in their sleeping bags. The distant howling of wolves had meant that Christa and Mike had gone off "on lookout" for "any approaching forms of threatening wildlife" as Mike had phrased humorously to Bonnie. The redhead woman laughed and kissed him off, as he promised he and Christa wouldn't stray too far away from the group.

"Well damn, I just hope the others are okay and having more luck then us" Rebecca said, gazing above her, before she rocked AJ in her lap, as Bonnie smiled down at him.

"His gonna be a heart-breaker when he grows older" she commented, as Rebecca smiled.

"Yeah, his going to be my little handsome man one day" Rebecca chimed, as she turned to Bonnie "Did you ever think about having kids Bonnie?" she asked the southern woman, as Bonnie's eyes found the floor quite suddenly as she muttered in an embarrassed manner "No, I... never thought about it. Probably for the best really, considering the addict I once was"

"Well, that's in the past. You'd make a good mother Bonnie" Rebecca complimented her, as Bonnie smiled shyly.

"Well... that's real nice of y'all... but I still don't think I could mother a child in this mess" she said looking around the pitch black wood around her.

"No, but if something were to happen to me..."

"oh it ain't Rebecca, you're as tough as nails..."

"if it does" Rebecca cut through Bonnie's reassurance, like a knife easily cut through a slab of butter, Bonnie remained silent as Rebecca continued "If something does happen to me. Promise me you'll look after Alvin, I know it seems odd, trusting the former drug addicts. But you... Eddie... you seem like the most stable people in our group" Rebecca was stating as Bonnie let out a short laugh "Sorry, but... if you're looking for sensible you should be having this conversation with Mike and not me" Bonnie went quiet, as she looked over at the spot that Mike had left through the treeline.

"You should speak to him you know, I've noticed you two haven't been getting along lately" Rebecca advised Bonnie, as the freckled woman nodded.

"I... I don't know what I did wrong. I tell him I love him all the time... I joke with him, I try to lighten the tone, but... ever since we left the Hardware store he just hasn't been the same. Added to the fact his making quick friends with Christa, whose hand I blew off, I dunno I feel like their forming some sort of anti-movement against me..." Bonnie mumbled sadly, as Rebecca glanced around her, to ensure they were the only one's nearby.

"Me and Christa obviously have our differences... but she's lost everything. So I can't really hate her... you should go talk to her and Mike. I know you apologised to her, but I think she might still resent you and Mike, I don't know what's up with him honey. But if you sit him down and talk to him about it, you might find out. His an honest and kind guy, were lucky to have him with us" Rebecca told Bonnie warmly, as Bonnie stood up tall and announced "You're right Bec, I'm gonna go find them and talk to em!" Rebecca offered her a smile, as Bonnie sprinted off into the treeline.

Rebecca only hoped Christa and Mike weren't off doing... what she thought they were doing.

* * *

"...And then he peed on her dad!"

Vince and Kenny burst out laughing at the story Eddie was telling, as Wyatt rolled his eyes and murmured "The millionth time I've heard that" yet a smile still crept it's way onto his face. As the four men sat around the small (and messy) camp-fire they had managed to stack up. After many curses, the four of them had managed to light a small fire as they gazed into the flames now.

"You know what this is like? this is like those fucking story time thing for kids. All sitting round the camp-fire signing kum-by-ah..." Wyatt commented.

"You know I've always thought Kum-by-ah was a hymn about sex you know?" Eddie piped up again, as Kenny humorously face-palmed and muttered "Oh God. Here we go..."

"No seriously, it's got the whole cum bit in the song. and by and ah... it's like those groaning noises you make when..." Eddie was saying but Vince cut him off with a loud cough, as he humorously announced "Okay! That's enough info!"

Eddie only smirked back at him, as Wyatt muttered "You know Vince, that's real rich coming from the guy who made the sex-snap..." he trailed off, as he realised now that Kelly was dead, but Vince, Eddie and Wyatt still chuckled at this comment, as Vince looked at the ground and muttered sadly "I miss her, you know?" the three guys around him, remained in silence for a short while before Eddie (as always) spoke up, saying the worst possible thing you could say at that moment.

"Have you still got that photo on you Vince?" he asked, as Wyatt face-palmed himself, and Kenny uttered "I wouldn't want you at my funeral" to a blank looking Eddie who replied "What? It's not insensitive. It's a great reminder of Kelly for him, it shows every inch of her" he commented as Kenny chuckled into his open hand and muttered "You know I'm half expecting you laugh if Sarita lost my kid, and say something like at least she's thinner now" Kenny told him as Eddie only shrugged. and responded with "Well, as sad as that would be. It would be a fact" he stated clearly.

"Jesus, how the hell did we get to this?" Wyatt questioned openly, of the sky above him.

"Blame Eddie here and his sick and very inappropriate sense of humour" Kenny told Wyatt, as Eddie simply muttered "Yep, blame me for everything but you started the conversation Wyatt, so secretly this is all your fault. You're the one pulling the strings here..."

"Pulling the strings. Dude. You would have started a conversation anyway"

"On what?"

"Something Eddie-ish and weird enough. Like that one time you went up to that chick and asked her how good she was on a scale of 1 too 100 at having sex. That slap was well deserved" Wyatt said. As Eddie simply muttered in reply "What? She was hot, probably would have been a 92 on the old Eddie scale".

Wyatt only groaned, as Vince finally muttered "You know, as weird as this conversation is, I actually do still have that picture on me" he informed them, as Eddie jeered and muttered "Come on Vince, our greatest leader! To remember Kelly by, how much was she on the old Eddie scale?" as Wyatt told him "Again dude, you're so sensitive and understanding to others..."

"she was an 100 to me" Vince told them, cutting through Wyatt's statement, as he gazed at the ground, thinking mournfully of his lost girlfriend, as Wyatt asked him "You alright man?" as Vince simply muttered that he was.

"How about you Kenny. You've told us, you know Sarita is still out there somewhere, how much is she on the Eddie scale?" he asked of the older man, as Kenny simply laughed and muttered "I'm playin' it safe gents, I'm saying a solid 100 for my girl" he said this as Eddie groaned and murmured "On come on, this is like a guy's night out. We can say what we want here!"

"Well the best I had was a 60, if that helps diverse-ify the scale" Wyatt told them all, as Kenny muttered "So, you had a girlfriend before all this?" as Wyatt shook his head.

"A few one night stands dude, a few one night stands. Considering how fucking hideous I am, I was lucky to get any at all" he told them, as Eddie patted his back and muttered "I completely agree, if this fat asshole can get some, anybody can" as Wyatt managed to quickly get his friend into a headlock as he told a struggling Eddie "Beware, for who you call fat, they may come and sit on you one day" he muttered with a feigned mystical tone.

"Then again, some of the girls I had when I was younger..." Kenny muttered, thinking back even before he first met Kajtaa, it felt like more than a million years ago, back before Kenny was a father or a husband, he was once, young, single and free.

"Yeah, the older it gets the better it gets I imagine" Wyatt muttered, as he released Eddie from his headlock as Eddie told Kenny "I dunno Wyatt dude, the girls' Kenny had when he was younger, were probably dinosaurs..."

"I ain't that old!" Kenny exclaimed with humour, as the three of them laughed on, Vince watched his group happily, as he laid back and allowed them to carry on talking. See? Now that Luke was gone everything was fine. His group was happy. This was the group he wanted to lead, this is the group he would continue to lead, they were happy here. He was keeping them secure... after Kelly's death he vowed no one else (other than Luke) would die. They were going to trek on.

And they would find the others.

"... Stef's obviously the token choice, but if we get to Wellington I'm thinking of expanding my horizons" Eddie was saying as Vince tuned back into the conversation around him.

"What about you Wyatt, any group member you like? and it can't be Stef" Kenny asked of him, as Wyatt smiled and Eddie muttered "Guys count too, so don't worry, we all know about you and Nick..."

"Man, piss off" Wyatt growled at a laughing Eddie, before Wyatt smiled and told them "You know, you'd think it would be a hard choice. But I've always kind of... liked Bonnie"

"Bonnie!?" Kenny exclaimed, this was certainly information, he (nor Eddie) had heard before.

"Yeah, we've been together for a while, back at Vince's camp and then at the Hardware store. But... you know I don't think she feels the same and she has Mike. I mean, I can't compete with Mike and his a cool guy, so I wish them the best" Wyatt told them, his tone was humorous but their was something sad in his tone. Yet he quickly covered this up by carrying on with his statement "Yeah, Nick and Mike if they were here it would be a full on guy's night out" he told them (omitting Luke, who they all thought was dead at this point).

"Dude!" Eddie yelled in shock, gazing shocked at Wyatt "How could you forgot the manliest of us all! Clementine! She'll be at the bar downing all the whisky and giving the least fucks...!" Eddie was telling them as if it were obvious...

"and ripping walkers apart with bare hands and getting all her ink done, while travelling up country with Hell's angles" Kenny added humorously.

"With? That is an insult to the almighty Clementine Kenny, she will be leading Hell's angels up the country" Eddie corrected him, as he laughed and muttered "My mistake, so sorry" as Eddie pouted and muttered "You should be sorry" as he planted Clementine's hat on his head "She's out there now, with her gang taking out walkers, of course she asked me, as her loyal side-kick to take care of her awesome cap for her while she's gone" Eddie stated to them all, pointing to Clementine's hat on his head.

"I wish that was the case, but I have a bad feeling... she truly is gone" Vince mumbled sadly, entering the conversation.

"Well I have a good feeling her and Sarita are out there somewhere, doing just fine" Kenny's conflicting words, caused Vince to go silent, as he stared out and into the dark night.

Clementine and Sarita were fine. He knew it. and he was right.

* * *

Stephanie couldn't sleep, Luke was meant to be on guard but in the dark, she kept imaging hundreds of haggard wolves coming out of blue and ripping her to shreds. She kept her gun close to her chest and her senses alert, she had treated Luke's wounds, but he still seemed fairly dozy and Stephanie didn't trust him too well as a guard, she had taken first watch. Now it was his turn (he was too damn persistent to be refused). Stephanie was supposed to be sleeping, but so far she couldn't. The incident with the wolves had shaken her, she felt way too exposed and vulnerable out here in the woods... they could be hunted from in any direction.

She hated feeling exposed.

Unable to sleep she finally sat up in her sleeping bag, to find Luke wiping some sort of locket with his thumb. A curious Stephanie approached him, when she was a mere foot away from where he was crouched on the floor, she muttered "What you got there?" as Luke jumped and looked around at her.

"Oh shit... thought you might have been someone else" he gasped, before he laughed lightly "Can't sleep either, huh?" he asked, as Stephanie nodded and decided to take a seat next to him.

"Hey, isn't that, Your parents locket?" Stephanie asked, suddenly remembering the thing. She remembered finding it in the scarp pile back in Howe's and allowed Jane to take the credit for finding it. Because of this Jane and Luke's romance had blossomed, Luke caressed the little golden locket in his fingers and nodded.

"Wear it round my neck every day. It's the only thing I have left of Jane, even smells of her" he told Stephanie as he placed the locket near to his nose and sniffed, he closed his eyes, as if trying to prolong some sort of pleasure... that was before he opened his eyes again and his face sunk.

"I wish I had a picture of her" he muttered sadly.

Stephanie didn't know what to say, she was awful at comforting people who were clearly upset. So instead she tried to think like Lilly, what would Lilly say? "Get the hell over it Luke, we need to move on" somehow that didn't feel right. What would Nick say "I'm sorry dude, but remember the time when..." he would dive into his or Luke's past together and make some far fetched point on grief, or losing a loved one. But who was Stephanie to Luke? She was just a friend, she didn't know what to say.

"I don't know how you deal with it" Stephanie finally said, the words coming out by themselves as Luke looked over at her.

"Seriously, all the shit you've been through. Losing Jane, having Vince fuck you over completely, I wouldn't have stood there and did what you did. I would have been the worst person, I would have ran" Stephanie continued, she couldn't be Nick or Lilly here, she could only be her shitty self, Luke looked over at her curiously before he spoke up once again.

"Here" he muttered, sliding over a photo to Stephanie, she picked it up to see it was a photo of her and Nick back at the Hardware store. Smiling happily at the camera, she felt herself go red, she forgot when this was taken.

"I have loads more of Nick, and me, and uncle Pete and Clem and everyone. I just thought this one would be best for you" Luke informed her, as she glanced at the photo and muttered "I didn't pack any" but she was glad Luke had done. She looked over at Luke waiting for him to speak once again, as he looked back at her, he finally seemed to say "I know Nick real well, but the guy can be an idiot sometimes. He yells at me for hiding things from him, but he does it as well. Never told me he has a thing for you" Luke told a eagerly listening Stephanie.

"What makes you think that?" she asked in curiosity.

"I've known that man 20 years. With Nick, it's not what he says, it what he does. And seeing him around you... it's pretty damn obvious to me" Luke told her, as Stephanie seemed to know what sort of answer Luke wanted. He wanted to look out for his friend, he wanted to see what type of woman she was. So she gave her honest reply.

"I like him. But I can't love him Luke, I can't go through the pain of losing another loved one" she told him sadly.

"You already made that decision Stef, you could have left weeks ago back at the Hardware store. The only time when you do try and flee is when you think Nick's dead. Like it or not, his already kept you around" Luke told her, as the truth seemed to hit Stephanie with those words, she always thought Luke was preoccupied with leaving, but she failed to notice how observant he could be as well.

"I'm saying this... because... people scare me more than lurkers now days. Ever wonder why Nick always wears long sleeves?" Luke randomly decided to ask, Stephanie never noticed this detail before, but now it hit her slap bang in the face, how had she failed to notice it before? She had never seen him topless... but she never thought that was odd. But now Luke had pointed out the whole long sleeve thing... and it suddenly hit her, as Luke turned and looked her in the eyes.

"Don't hurt him Stef" was all he said.

* * *

Christa giggled as her and Mike broke apart from their kiss, both of them with their trousers down, as Mike held Christa against a tree.

"Careful, were on watch, remember?" Christa asked of Mike, who grinned and muttered "Yeah, I'm on watch. I'm on ass-watch as Eddie would say..." Christa laughed, as Mike pulled her closer to him.

"I don't want to hear what Eddie has to say, I want to see what you can say and what you can do with your lips" Christa purred, as Mike grinned and crashed back into Christa, the pair kissed deeply, that was until Christa started to rapidly tap his shoulder, Mike broke apart from her, and saw that she was wide eyed and gesturing to a spot behind her, an alert Mike quickly turned around.

To find Bonnie standing there. A single tear rolling down her cheek.


	25. Hurt

**A/N: Okay, thanks everyone for your reviews and continued support! **

**Lockdown- Thank you, I'm glad the theme of redemption is working well in this story as it was one of the theme's that made season 1 so great.**

**Chameishida- thanks for your review and observations on each group, and as for that story Skin deep... yes, that is amazing! I loved Growing Pains and now it has a sequel I will be eagerly awaiting updates.**

**ffapathy- Glad you liked the new plan I had for Lilly and her continued theme of redemption and in the end she was able to find that redemption by pushing Nick out of Harm's way and being the smartest one in the group, she was able to save Nick (and others) multiple times, and I liked your observation of the other groups, as writing a breather chapter was actually a nice change for me. (especially Eddie and Wyatt's bits) and like I said to Chameishida I already love Skin deep and I can't wait for the next chapter! **

**Rebloxic- 9.5, glad you're loving the story! and liking your predictions for the next chapter, you'll have to read on to find out if they were right! **

**FunFX2012- Yep, no death last chapter (I've been killing off so many characters later, so it was a nice change to write a chilled out chapter) and as for Mike and Christa being next on your hit list, I imagine Vince is up there as well?**

**Kristal Dynamite- Again, thank you for your fantastic reviews and I loved your observation on each group and the fact you were able to pick up on Nick's long sleeves... I saw someone mention it on a forum and it suddenly hit me. I realised that no one had seen Nick without his long sleeves in the first story (he wasn't stripped bare like the other's back at Howe's, Sarah never saw him get changed or anything like that, he kept mostly to himself in the greenhouses at Howe's and Sarah treated bullet wounds on his shoulder and stomach and not up his arms) so I thought now would be a perfect opportunity to bring it up, let's just say him and Sarah will have an interesting conversation about it this chapter.**

**Transformers g1's-prime- Glad to know your story has started (you'll have to send me a link) I imagine they'll meet up the same way as they did in the comics.**

**Thank you all for your reviews and now, on with the chapter!**

* * *

Mike could only stare at a tearful Bonnie for a few seconds, the silence in the air grew too heavy for any sort of words as Bonnie looked on at the pair, Mike had no idea for how long she had been standing there, or for how long she had been listening to them. All he knew is that he had been caught, pants down, in the middle of the act. There was no way to explain this.

"Bonnie..." Mike began, regret tinged in his tone, as he extended a hand towards the redhead woman, she gasped and sobbed before she used one of her shaking hands to violently slap his hand away.

"Don't touch me" she ordered him, her voice sounded empty and lost as more tears rolled past the freckles on her pale cheeks.

"Bonnie... it was..." Mike began to explain helplessly, nearly tripping over his own trousers as he tried to walk towards her, Bonnie looked at Mike, as he slowly approached her, before she shrieked with the force of a lion "GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Mike was jolted into a frozen trauma, as sweat trickled down his forehead and his stomach sunk, he felt awful, but no doubt Bonnie felt worse.

"What's going on?" came Rebecca voice's as she emerged from behind a nearby tree, Alvin was starting to cry quietly in her lap. Rebecca was looking at a teary Bonnie as she muttered "Bonnie, your screaming is going to draw walkers, and you woke up Alvin here, what's a matter...?" Rebecca never finished her question, as Bonnie pointed a shaking, accusing finger at where Mike still stood (trousers down) and where Christa was still planted against the tree behind her. Rebecca connected the dots quickly, as she suddenly realised how distressed Bonnie was and what was going on.

"Oh for the love of Christ..." she groaned to the sky, as Bonnie continued to whimper and Mike gulped and tried to speak up once again.

"Bonnie, Rebecca. I'm sorry... Jesus... I'm sorry! I didn't want...!" he voice trailed to a halt as Rebecca shot daggers at him, as Bonnie collapsed, sobbing hysterically on the forest floor.

"Pull your pants up. Both of you" Rebecca snarled at the pair of them, Mike instantly obeyed her order (he felt like an idiot with them down anyway) as Christa quickly followed his lead as the two stood staring at Rebecca. The African american mother poked Bonnie with her foot, as through her watery pools of eyes. The redhead looked up a stern looking Rebecca.

"Stop crying Bonnie, get up and hold Alvin" she commanded of the still-heartbroken younger woman below her. A confused Bonnie gulped before she shakily got to her feet as Rebecca planted the uncomfortable infant in Bonnie's still shaking fingers, with both hands free Rebecca stormed over to where Mike still stood. Mike and Rebecca were inches apart, as Mike nervously looked down upon the furious mother, wondering what on earth she was going to do.

He got his answer a second later.

WHACK

Mike gasped and instantly held a hand up to his cheek, Rebecca had slapped him and not just a dandy little slap either, that you would use to scald a child. No,a full on swinging slap, that left Mike's eyes watering and his cheek burning. Rebecca didn't hesitate, the loud crack of her hand as it connected with Mike's cheek, had already made Christa flinch. But Christa couldn't shield her face in time, before she knew it, she was doubled over against the tree. Her head dizzy, her cheek stinging as she could feel the outline of where Rebecca had no doubt left her red hand-print on her bony face.

"Get a grip you two. If you were getting it on, you could have least told Bonnie before-hand. And you were supposed to be on fucking watch, you put us all at risk!" Rebecca lectured of the pair of them, as Mike blinked rapidly to try and clear his vision of stars, as Bonnie continued to sob on, lost for words as she and Mike connected eyes once again.

"Why?" she begged of him for the answer, but it was Christa who answered.

"He wanted someone who would take action, not someone who would simply sit on the fence and let the group go to ruin before her eyes. That's why" Christa's statement was harsh as Bonnie looked over at her and then back at Mike, before she burst out laughing tears of mirth seemingly spilling from eyes now, as she flashed Mike and Christa cruel smirks.

"Oh, I see. That's what it is! Mike... you want action! Oh... I see it all now...!" Bonnie laughed seemingly in hysterics, as Christa continued to glare at the southern woman, however Mike's cold demeanour faltered instantly. As he tried to beg of her again "Bonnie, let's just talk about this..."

"DON'T YOU EVER COME NEAR ME AGAIN!" Bonnie screamed suddenly, laughter replaced by her sudden harsh scream that made Mike's heart leap into his mouth, as he gulped and looked at her sadly. For a second she looked like she wanted to attack either Christa or Mike, but then she realised AJ was in her grip and she stopped herself as she continued to wipe away her tears. As she did, Rebecca placed a comforting arm around Bonnie and held Alvin with the other hand, as she muttered to the two shamed beings behind her "It's nearly morning, we'll be moving again soon. I suggest you keep your distance from me and Bonnie and don't try and talk to us" she commanded of a silent Christa and Mike.

"Good then, let's go" Rebecca ordered helping Bonnie forward, as Mike shyly muttered "Well, I thought I was leader..."

It only took one look back from Rebecca to shut Mike up completely, as the former fireman shrunk into himself. Rebecca didn't say a word as she led Bonnie onwards (who was still sobbing) mumbling things like "I thought he loved me. I thought he was the one..." as Rebecca comforted her, mumbling things back like "I know baby bear, I know..." when they disappeared out of earshot, a stunned Mike turned back to Christa.

"Why the hell did you go and say all that! trying to aggravate them!" Mike spat at her, as Christa only looked back at Mike, an annoyed expression spreading across her face.

"For fuck's sake Mike, I was just stating the truth. They needed to hear it. The only thing I regret is not telling Bonnie about this beforehand, not the fact it happened. You're with me now, whether she learnt it the easy way or the hard way. I don't care, the bitch blew off my hand Mike! Me and you... were better together,you know it, I know it, I just wanted to make that very clear to them" Christa told him, as Mike sighed. He was with Christa now, and in a way she was right. He was acting like Bonnie, not taking enough action and stuttering for an apology, he needed to be more assertive and take more action.

* * *

The morning sun was something of a blessing, Clementine opened her eyes when she felt the first rays of sun warm her skin (only slightly though, as the temperature in the forest was dropping fast, added to the fact they were trekking further north every day)

Clementine rubbed her eyes as she went to reach for her cap on her head. Only then she sadly realised that it was no longer there. Her black curls looking increasingly wild, as more twigs and leaves nestled themselves in her growing hair. Yawning Clementine arose from her sleeping bag, wondering how on earth she had ended up here, in this state in a mere few days.

If only she could be sent back again, she would do what she could to prevent the argument from escalating, she would stop Stephanie from attempting to steal the truck. Then they wouldn't be the woods, they'd be heading towards Wellington. She would prevent the group from ever trusting Alex's group, then the whole herd thing wouldn't have happened, they wouldn't be separated and Kelly wouldn't be dead. Ever since they had left the Hardware store things had gone to hell...

First Randy, Patricia and Gill, then the Vitali and Natasha, then Kelly and now Arvo and Lilly and God knows who else had died in the herd back there. Her group numbers were depleting rapidly, everyone was making mistakes that got others killed. Clementine couldn't save anyone, anymore she could only watch helplessly as people died, or got shot, or torn apart in front of her.

She was glad she agreed with Luke now to stay at the Hardware store for as long as possible. It seemed like a bad choice at the time, but (as strange as it sounded) Lilly was right, the second they left the motor Inn everything had gone to shit. The exact same was happening here and Clementine knew how it had ended that time. In a radiator in Savannah lay the corpse of the man who guided her through the apocalypse, it was going to end badly this time as well, Clementine could feel it in her bones.

But for now, everything seemed peaceful. She looked up to see last night's smoking camp-fire, and the bits of bone left of the small weasel she had managed to shoot with Sarita's help. Clementine looked around the camp-fire with a flush of pride, (of course Sarita still had to skin the thing and cook it slowly over the fire and Clementine watched absorbing the information like a sponge) she ate ravenously that night. The cooked meat tasting so much better than the canned food she was used too. Nick was so hungry he nearly choked on a bone, which made Sarah laugh as he complained about the bone's in the thing.

It was first laugh since Lilly's death. Things were bad no doubt. But Sarah reminded Clementine of that tiny ray of hope and humanity still left in her.

Speaking of Sarah, the teenager lay upright near a tree, watching a sleeping Nick as her eyes flickered to him back to the smoking camp-fire. Clementine felt a need to approach her and speak to her, especially after what had happened to Sarah yesterday. Sarah was clearly thinking of something hard, as she didn't register Clementine's presence, even when Clementine said "Hi" to her, Sarah continued to look away. So Clementine said a little louder "Hi, Sarah" hearing her name, a cloudy eyed Sarah finally turned to her younger friend.

"Oh, hi Clem" she said simply, as Clementine sat near to her teenage friend, as Sarah eyes directed themselves towards her shoes.

"You look weird without your cap" Sarah pointed out, as Clementine couldn't help but smile lightly at her comment.

"It feels weird" she replied, as the pair of them sunk back into another silence, Clementine coughed to break it, before muttering "Are you okay Sarah?" she asked as Sarah gulped and looked at her friend, she was sure she could trust Clementine.

"I left Alex to die" she muttered emptily, as Clementine's eyes widened at this new news.

"I told Nick last night, he said it was fine and that he deserved it. But... if that's true than I deserve it too, because I'm just as bad a person. Than... than Nick deserves it for... for..." she trailed off their before she sadly muttered "Arvo kissed me".

Clementine blinked, before she automatically responded with "Well, did you like Arvo?" the question was met with an instant answer from Sarah.

"I never thought I'd have a boyfriend, or ever kiss anyone. But he was the first and I liked him. But Nick killed him, but then Arvo abandoned me... and Sarita shot Randy and you shot that guy... even when he was dead... I... I..." Sarah was whispering these words quietly, as Clementine (with a pang to her gut) was sadly reminded of Josh, who she murdered in cold blood. She looked Sarah in the eye and whispered back "I just got really mad, I didn't think straight" as Sarah nodded.

"The same with me when I left Alex. I didn't want to hurt anyone but..." she trailed off there as she looked out at the group, nervously from behind her glasses as she shivered. There was no wind to make her shiver like this though and Clementine knew what was bothering her.

"We've all done bad things Sarah, but what those guys did you too... that was fucked up" Clementine mumbled, the use of the swear word seemed to get Sarah's interest as she shivered again and hugged herself and constantly rubbed her hands against her clothing (as if to remind herself they were still there) and kept her body closed as she mumbled back "It... it hurt Clementine".

Clementine listened in silently as Sarah continued.

"Back at school, the most pain I was in is when I broke my finger the once. I still got teased and got called a fat wumble wee back then. Even though my mum said I was too skinny and should have eaten more, but now, I don't know what to do. Everything hurts more than it should, I don't know who the bullies are anymore, I don't know what to do, or who to trust" Sarah found herself confiding in Clementine. Clementine knew exactly how she felt, because this was just like her after Lee died. Who would she trust? What would she do? Her parents and Lee were gone, why was everything some overwhelmingly painful? Beforehand Sarah was simply surviving, but now Clementine knew she was reaching the next stage.

She was hardening to the world.

"Me, Nick and Sarita were your friends Sarah. No matter what happens were going to stick together" Clementine said, as Sarah smiled at her and lifted her pinkie finger.

"A pinkie swear is forever, promise me we'll stick together" Sarah asked of Clementine, who interlocked her pinkie with Sarah's.

"That''s a promise" Clementine announced, as the two friends smiled at each other. Despite everything, their friendship was still going strong.

* * *

The distant howls of wolves certainly kept Luke and Stephanie on their feet, despite suffering no attacks from the wolves at night, their was no doubt a pack of the haggard things were on their tail. Luke's wounds were starting to scab over and heal, yet Stephanie knew he was still in no condition to walk without support. Both of them felt their hair on the back of their neck rise on end at another howl in the distance, they seemed to be circling the pair and getting ever closer.

Stephanie had 8 bullets left, Luke had nothing other than his machete. She could scare the wolves off 8 times, and what if they didn't flee? What if she tried to shoot one and miss? She could try and climb into a tree but it would take an awful long time to get Luke up there as well, they were running out of time and Stephanie could only pray she'd find some sort of still standing structure very soon.

"So... I heard you were a farmhand?" Stephanie decided to ask of Luke, the howls of the wolves were getting to her and she needed something to distract her, Luke seemed to appericate the company as he smiled and muttered "Yeah... me and Nick used to be farmhands back in the day, then we tried to be businessmen and set up a gun store together. We went flat out broke, but it was a damn blast" Luke added as a cheerful afterthought, as they managed to cross over a small log.

"How about your parents? Did they work as farmhands or anything?" Stephanie inquired, trying to learn about more about Luke than she knew previously.

"Yeah, mum and dad were both into business, thought I'd try and carry on the legacy of the family. That fell flat, but my old folks were fine with it. I dunno, maybe I wasn't cut out for business. Because I did study Art and history at college..." Luke was saying as Stephanie listened on silently.

"Sounds like you're a jack of all trades" she commented brightly as Luke laughed.

"A jack of all failed trades" he mused, as Stephanie smiled at him, before he decided to ask back, "So come on, little miss pretty face, who stayed cooped up on her guitar, what's your story? What did you like to do?" Stephanie raised an eyebrow at him, as he looked on curiously. "What?" he eventually asked.

"This all very hypocritical coming from the guy who was cooped up in his office" Stephanie informed him, as Luke simply laughed again and uttered "Well, were as bad as each other" after hearing this Stephanie decided to open up more to Luke.

"Well, my life... I went to high school, I was in a band called the Mad Mumblers..." she recalled as Luke echoed "The mad mumblers?"

"Yeah, group of us first formed together after we got detention for stealing the principles favourite pen. He was overprotective of the damn thing... anyway when the principle told us off... he shouted at this. Scared the hell outta us and we only mumbled back, afterwards the other guys took the piss out of each other for mumbling at each other and we became good friends through that incident, by some strange means. I was the only girl but... I was okay around those guys you know. I grew up with those goof-balls, we all planned to go to University of Michigan together. We had our studies, but at the same time we wanted to make it big..." Stephanie sighed as she remembered her four band mates.

"Then, just as my life was finally going somewhere, all this shit happens. My four band-mates died, I never got to my parents in time, and the band manager got me outta the mess..." Stephanie recounted her back-story sadly, as she remembered Roman and the Mad Mumblers.

"It's a shame. It's 2006 now, in an parallel universe you could be the world's biggest band by this point" Luke told her as Stephanie smiled.

"Thanks, but it makes you wonder though. What would music be like now-days? What films would be out? From 2003 onwards the world ended" Stephanie told him, as Luke nodded before he threw another question at the raven haired woman.

"Did you... ever... date one of your band-mates?" he asked, as Stephanie only grinned and muttered "No, I never actually went out with anyone in all my school days. But I liked those guys, if this whole thing hadn't have happened. I get the feeling we would have ended up together. I always liked Matt the best, there was Frank, Joe and Carl, but Matt... I always liked him. Nick reminds me of him sometimes" Stephanie said as Luke processed these news.

"So Stan was your first?" he asked, as Stephanie laughed and nodded "Yeah, put me off relationships for life"

Luke and Stephanie laughed openly for a few minutes, before settling down again, as Stephanie decided to ask Luke "So before you started forcing yourself on every living thing with a pulse, any girls in your life?" Luke grinned and muttered "Oh yeah, I went around rapin' everything that moved. I'm a sex offender really, not a farmhand" as Stephanie simply nodded and said "Ah, I see and Nick is too?" she asked as Luke nodded "Nick's the worst. He could never stop himself, got sentenced to four life sentences, for rape, grand theft auto, robbing wall street, mass murder... etc... etc..." Luke finished as Stephanie giggled into her hand, she only stopped when Luke managed to look up seriously again.

"Nah, in all seriousness though. I did have a few girlfriends before all this. Could never keep them... but yeah. I had Jane. She was the girl for me..." he trailed off sadly, but before Stephanie could pipe up again Luke managed to regain himself "Nick's kissed a few girls too. But... his never had sex with any of them" Stephanie's eyes widened at this news as she asked him "How'd you know that? You spying on him or something?" she asked, hoping he would take part in the self-duplicating humour that she and Nick shared so often (she was glad Luke liked it too, Luke and Nick seemed to have that in common as well).

"Well, I just know never bragged about it. and it doesn't seem like the type" Luke replied to her seriously, as his eyes trailed to the ground again. Stephanie brought up the next question, wanting now to have a serious answer, if she was really going to figure Nick out.

"What about the long sleeves? When did they start appearing? Have you ever seen him...?" She asked in wonder, as Luke nodded and muttered "I saw him doin' it once. Thought he'd killed himself, I never screamed at him so loud before, he scared the shit outta me..." Luke sighed and ran a loose hand through his hair before muttering again "I wasn't always there for him, he had a shitty father Stef. Used to do all sorts of horrible shit to Nick, and I just wasn't there for him sometimes" he looked up again, thinking of his best friend.

"Stef, when we've dealt with Vince. Or when we find him. If I go down with Vince, or if something goes wrong. Let Nick know the truth, he'll believe you. I know he will" Luke said firmly as Stephanie remained silent on the matter, yet she would indeed tell Nick everything he needed to know about Vince. Lilly would be there too, no doubt the clever woman was still alive and probably helping Nick shoot or something like that. Stephanie smiled at the thought.

This wasn't over, her and Luke were in a bleak position, but they were only just beginning the longer journey.

* * *

"...I'd like Lee"

Sarita smiled down at Clementine as she muttered "If it is a boy, I may consider Lee. Kenny said that Lee was always a good friend to him too" the two smiled and looked down at Sarita's belly, Clementine could just start to see where the bump was starting to appear.

"It is amazing, that new life can grow amidst all this death" Sarita said as the four of them trekked onwards.

"AH!"

Sarah's scream cut through Clementine like a bullet, Clementine whipped around to find some a dangerously skinny looking wolf had pounced on her friend and was going to take a chunk out of her neck...

BANG!

The wolf above Sarah seemed to stiffen, it collapsed dead on top of her, as Sarah screamed and tried to kick the thing away, Nick held his gun at the wolf, his bullet instantly ending it's life. But his outstretched arm was suddenly attacked by another wolf, the thing clamped it's teeth down on Nick's sleeve but just before it's teeth could dig under Nick's skin he tugged the wolf away. So his skin didn't bleed but with an almighty RIP... and a tearing noise, the layers of clothes around Nick's sleeve were tugged off, leaving his lower arm exposed as he cursed and kicked the wolf away, the thing snarled at him preparing to pounce again...

BANG!

It fell dead, as Nick breathed a sigh of relief, he wiped his sweaty forehead and saw his savour was Sarita who had managed to shoot the thing in the head, she shouted over to him "ARE YOU OKAY!?" in which Nick answered a "FINE!" before he looked down at his exposed wrist.

Shit, they were showing...

"Where the hell did they come from?" Clementine asked Sarita as she helped Sarah from under the wolf, as the teenager wiped the wolf's grey hairs from her clothes. Sarita muttered "It's like Anne said the woods are full of them. Any fresh meat they'll be hunting down, we have to keep moving" Sarita stated looking around nervously.

"Can we eat the wolves?" Clementine suggested, as Sarita looked down at the thing. and all the flies already swarming around its corpse and the red tinge around the wolves eyes... it didn't look all to healthy and Sarita had never eaten wolf meat before? Could you? Sarita didn't want to take the risk she already had her baby inside of her. Weasels and Raccoons were one thing, but these wolves? They looked infected with something... and for once it wasn't the walker virus.

"No, they don't look safe to eat" Sarita commanded, as Clementine and Sarah nodded, maybe Sarita was being paranoid, but she couldn't help it. The pregnant woman looked up to find Nick clutching his wrist.

"Nick did it bite you?" Sarita asked approaching him.

"NO!" Nick bellowed, shoving his exposed arm out of sight, as he covered it with his other hand. Sarita seemed fairly alarmed at Nick's extreme reaction, yet Nick simply managed to mutter "No... I didn't get bitten"

"Then why are you holding it like that. Let me have a look, or let Sarah have a look" Sarita told him, as Sarah approached him, Nick felt trapped, he didn't know what to do.

"It's nothing, honestly!" He shouted, before striding past Sarah and Sarita, Sarah watched him as he walked ahead "He probably has been scratched or something like that. His just trying to look tough. I'll deal with it later" she told a nodding Sarita yet Clementine noticed one thing.

"If he got scratched, then where's the blood?"

Sarita and Sarah couldn't find an answer to this, as Clementine watched where Nick held his arm, no blood squeezed itself from under his palm, so he can't have been hurt. If that was the case, then what was Nick clearly trying to hide?

"I hope his not losing it" Sarita muttered sadly.


	26. Hangman

**A/N: Okay, sorry about this guys but I'm feeling a little lazy today so I'm keeping my author's note short, but once again I'll thank you all for your continued support and I hope you continue to enjoy the story and here I go ready to write some more. As for the poll, so far Clementine reigns in first place, with Nick second and Sarah and Luke tied in third place. Rebecca comes in fourth while there is also some Stephanie, Eddie and Sarita love out there as well! If you haven't voted, vote away as the poll closes in a few chapters!**

* * *

"Nick, were going off hunting"

Nick's eyes finally flew up at Sarita's statement, it had been the third time she had repeated that phrase to him and the black haired young man had failed to respond to her. So with an increasing urgency (and volume) in her voice she repeated her words until they finally penetrated Nick's ears, as his azure eyes drew into focus, he quickly whipped his exposed arm out of sight.

"Oh, okay" he muttered, from where he was sat crossed legged on the ground, staring down at a bronze leaf in the undergrowth.

Sarita shared a concerned glance with Clementine, Sarita had a hunting rifle on her, whereas poor Clementine only had her pistol, "It will be much harder to hunt with a normal gun, but with a lot of practice in can be done Clementine" Sarita told her the other day, Sarita was the one who had shot the raccoon and cooked it, while all Clementine did was watch. She remembered back at the motor inn, how Lee, Kenny, Lilly and Mark would go off hunting. How easy they made it seem just to shoot an animal. Clementine found it near impossible at the speeds animals moved. Carley was a dead shot, she always brought back something when she went off hunting by the motor inn.

Clementine wasn't a dead shot like Carley, she wasn't like Lee, and she wasn't strong like Lilly.

But she had to try.

She was worried however, that Nick wasn't trying.

She may have stood there with her pistol that looked pathetic for hunting, but at least she was up and trying. Something about Lilly's death had done something to Nick, he was slipping back into that depression that he fell so easily into. He usually stood tall and alert, but given that he had failed to respond to Sarita's words, he clearly wasn't paying attention and by the way he was slouched on the ground, his confidence had diminished.

"Nick, can you keep an eye on Sarah. We won't be long" Sarita told him, as Nick looked back at a shyly smiling Sarah who sat huddled by a tree.

"Yeah sure, I'll do that. You go and get food" Nick mumbled almost robotically, there was nothing else to say, but as Sarita and Clementine slowly edged out from the clearing they were currently resting in, the message was clear. Nick wouldn't be watching Sarah.

Sarah would be watching him.

* * *

Bonnie couldn't take it.

She couldn't take simply walking, on and on in the silence, Rebecca a short distance to her left, wary in case Bonnie screamed anything at the sly new couple behind her. No matter how many times Bonnie tried to process it, Mike was cheating on her. Cheating on her with a woman whose hand she had blown off. Bonnie felt worse than betrayed... she felt... evil.

Mike was a nice guy, he had sided with Bonnie's victim and they had done the dirty together. Bonnie felt like she was staged up to be some sort of villain in all this, but they were forgetting they got their happily ever after, she was the one who was cheated on. She was the one who had ended up alone and miserable, but this always happened. The boyfriends she had pre-apocalypse had all left her, but she could live with that, many of them were simply one night stands anyway. But then Leland came and went... and Bonnie started to feel a real romance may have been on the cards.

And then Luke came... and went.

She was still lingering over Luke, when her and Mike started. She was certain Luke was nothing but a memory that would soon grow distant, as her and Mike survived the apocalypse together, but no, now Mike had gone as well. In the most painful way for her, all because he wanted action? Now she was a villain for doing nothing? all she wanted to do was maintain the peace that had hung over Howe's for the past few months, she didn't want drama or anything to go wrong.

The one time she had acted... it was a heat of the moment event, when she pulled down on the trigger that had blown Christa's hand from her arm. Her one action... and it had lead to this. So Bonnie didn't do anything and she was a bad guy, she did something and she was still a bad guy? She was confused as hell, over thinking things like her mother always used to warn her about._ "Overthinkin' will drive you nuts one day darlin'" _was one of her mother's favourite quotes concerning her daughter.

Well, Bonnie thought today was that day.

"Can we stop already, I'm exhausted" Christa whined, looking up at the slowly setting sun in the sky, the forest around them remained still and silent.

"Why stop? I thought you and Mike liked moving and liked a lot of action..." Bonnie began to rant uncontrollably, as Christa scowled, and Rebecca warningly muttered "Bonnie..."

"Look Bonnie, me and Christa are together now, I'm sorry you had to find out like this, but..." Mike began to babble trying to break through the awkward silence, but this only made Bonnie even more furious as her face turned as red as her hair.

"What Mike? You expect me just to go with that? You expect a simple I'm sorry to make it all okay? It-doesn't-work-like-that!" Bonnie growled, as Mike gulped and tried another approach.

"Bonnie, were in a damn group here. I know things might be awkward and I know you're probably not going to forgive us... me... but the fact remains we have to work together if were going to survive! You can't just give us the cold shoulder!" Mike yelled, as Bonnie felt her bloat up, that man sure had a nerve to call her the quiet one.

"YOU KNOW MIKE! I DON'T GIVE A SHIT IF YOU'RE FUCKING THIS CRIPPLED BITCH AT ALL...!" Bonnie exploded suddenly, pointing an accusing finger at Christa.

"CRIPPLED, BECAUSE OF FUCKING WHO, HUH?" Christa roared back.

"Calm the fuck down, all of you. Were gonna draw walkers and God knows what else" Rebecca snarled at her group, looking around the empty forest nervously.

"BECAUSE OF FUCKING ME! I GET THAT! BUT I DON'T CARE IF YOU TWO WANT _ACTION! _WHAT I'M UPSET ABOUT IS NO ONE HAS ANY DECENCY ANYMORE TO COME AND TELL ME! YOU TREATED ME LIKE A FUCKING IDIOT! LIKE I'M THE FUCKING BAD GUY! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW THAT MAKES ME FEEL! HUH!? HUH MIKE!?"

Mike was speechless at Bonnie's outburst, Bonnie herself was shocked at everything that she had just vented. She looked up to find Mike gazing at her with those puppy dog eyes that he used so well, but the truth was set in stone. No matter how sorry he felt, he would never feel the hurt she felt in those moments. She was the victim here, she had been lied on, cheated on, kept in the dark, Christa and Mike bitched about her no doubt. She couldn't just run back to Mike in those moments, she simply had to gulp and live with the fact Mike and Christa hated her and hurt her.

"No, you don't know how I feel, just fuck other senseless I don't care anymore..."

"Bonnie..."

"NO! GO ON! I'M DONE WITH YOU CHRISTA AND I'M FUCKING DONE WITH YOU MIKE! YOU WANNA WORK TOGETHER TO SURVIVE THEN FINE! BUT DON'T-EVER-EXPECT-ME TO FORGIVE YOU FOR THIS!" and with that Bonnie couldn't take it anymore, Mike finally had the decency to remain silent rather than chirp out "Bonnie" ever so helplessly. That was the truth of the matter now, he had nothing left to say to her, the conversation had run dry and the relationship had dissolved into nothingness. Bonnie didn't want to stay in this "silence" anymore she sprinted off blindly to her left, feeling the first of the tears roll down her cheeks.

"BONNIE WAIT!" Rebecca called out after her, to no avail, she angrily turned on Mike and Christa when Bonnie had stormed out of view.

"You two... honestly" she snapped at them.

"What? all I asked is that we could rest and then she starts screaming, you can't blame us" Christa growled back, as Rebecca's eyes narrowed at her.

"What if that was _Omid_, huh Christa?" She asked of the tall African american woman, as Christa turned a shade of furious pink as Rebecca continued "What if that was your _Omid?_ who'd been cheating on you with Bonnie" she continued as Christa managed to move her lips, the word "Don't" escaped from her lips, as her fury at Rebecca grew, Rebecca however, stood her ground.

"Try and see it from that poor woman's perspective then" Rebecca told her matter of factly, as Rebecca turned to face the tree-line where Bonnie had vanished, a voice behind her however stopped her in her tracks.

"She should try and see things from my perspective then"

Rebecca turned.

"Excuse me?" she snapped at Christa, who had spoken. Christa didn't look furious anymore, it looked as if she was slowly deflating, then again under Rebecca's glare, even the most valiant of people eventually fell to fear. Yet it wasn't fear that propelling Christa's look of sadness, she generally seemed upset to be dragging up her position and where she stood in the grand scheme of things.

"I lost my _Omid_, I lost my_ Alvin_" Christa began sadly gazing at the baby in Rebecca's arms, and thinking of her long gone, dead, baby boy. She shuddered before carrying on "and then just when I think I find a new family, you people kill them as well. Only Mike cared for me and Arvo, you and Bonnie did nothing. I care for Mike, he cares for me, that's all there is too it. She better learn that lesson fast because I am not losing anybody else" Christa began to rage, as Mike placed a defiant arm around Christa's shoulders "It's just as my fault as it is Christa's Rebecca. You can't blame her" Rebecca seemed to gaze at the new couple with a little more sympathy.

A little more. Not a lot.

"Your Omid, your past girlfriend Mike, what was her name?" Rebecca asked, as Mike mumbled sadly "Rosa", as he remembered his past girlfriend who had been ripped to shreds right in front of him.

"Your Omid, your Rosa, at least you had them to lose. At least they were good people, I lost my Alvin to Carver so I know what that feels like" Rebecca stated, as she looked ahead of her, she drew a deep breath before she spoke again, "But I cheated on Alvin too. With Carver, I used to love that man, I used to love him over my husband, we'd have the best talks. But then... things changed. I watched slowly as Carver became more forceful, before he forced himself on me, before he started _changing..."_ Rebecca sighed as she held Carver's biological son closer to her chest, she heard Christa inhale and about to speak up, but she spoke before the tall woman.

"I'm not saying that, the pair of you are like Carver. But what I am saying is that... when your lovers died. At least they never changed, I had to watch the man I love become a monster. I helped to kill him, and what hurt the most is knowing I felt nothing for him when I watched Luke gut him like a fish. I should have felt something... but after everything..." she sighed and wiped away the growing tears in her eyes before she stood up tall again, and her strong voice cut across the new couple in front of her.

"In Bonnie's eyes Mike, you're _changing,_ think about how much that hurts" she told the former fight-fighter, before she departed on after Bonnie, Christa and Mike were left in silence, as they gazed at the tree's around them, finally Mike's golden orbs found Christa's shiny brown one's.

"Mike, why me?" was all she asked, a question she wanted a serious answer for. Mike sighed.

"I felt sorry for you and I wanted someone different than Bonnie to pleasure me" he admitted truthfully, as Christa gulped and gazed at her new-found man. Trying to get to know him better, to get to know who he really was and what he really wanted.

"Mike, you're not going to cheat on me are you? Not even if you meet up with some beautiful young girl in Wellington?" Christa asked, as Mike pulled her in for a hug, as he did, he whispered in her ear "Never, you're mine Christa. I'd never cheat on you"

"You said these words to Bonnie too. Didn't you?"

"Yes" Mike admitted truthfully, he didn't know what else to say and he thought Christa would break apart from him, but surprisingly enough she clung to him tighter, as she dully muttered "Well, only time will tell Mike. Only time will tell..."

* * *

Bonnie cleared her blurry vision, wiping the tears from her cheeks, she leant down on her one knee as she heard a small crinkling of a stream below her. She sniffed as she lowered her freezing hands into the even colder water, feeling the rush of the stream against her (now numb) fingers was strangely comforting to Bonnie as she closed her eyes and bathed in the silence around her for a few minutes.

No Mike. No relationships. She was free. Back when she was in truck with Mike she dreamed of being free in the forest, rather than cooped up in that drama nest that was Howe's Hardware. Now she was here and suddenly the group was nothing. Stephanie trying to flee in the truck seemed outright stupid at the time, now Bonnie wanted to be alone as well. Maybe not fully alone, maybe just away from Mike and Christa for a while...

She splashed her face with the stinging water, gasping aloud as it hit her face, yet the crystal clear stream water had helped clear the blotchy cheeks and alert her senses, she gazed down into the stream and saw a face from behind her.

"Hey" it muttered, it's reflection was rippled, but it resembled a man with a growing blonde beard and glasses.

Alarmed Bonnie looked up to find Wyatt standing right behind her, a small smile plastered underneath his growing facial hair, their blue eyes connected as Bonnie sudden desire to be alone was vanquished in an instant. She didn't know how or why, but Wyatt was here. A old, yet new face, a refreshing site for her, she didn't waste any time, she simply stood up slowly, before she crashed into her friend's surprisingly comfortable form and wrapped her skinny arms tightly around him as she buried her face in his shoulder.

"Oh thank God, thank God, I'd thought you'd died back there" she mumbled into his leaf green coat, as he laughed slightly and shyly put his own arms around Bonnie's smaller form.

"Erm... no I'm fine" He muttered awkwardly, as he cleared his throat "You alright? Vince heard you screaming and we figured you'd be around here, is anyone else with you...?" Wyatt asked in curiosity as Bonnie broke apart from him and new tears of happiness splashed down her face, her salty tears mixing with the fresh stream water still on her face. "Yeah, I'm just happy you guys are safe" she muttered, in all her despair two things had comforted her. Wyatt was alive and so was Vince, she could be with them now.

She didn't have to rely on Mike and Christa now. The group had grown once again.

"Your face is all wet, I should probably..." Wyatt mumbled as he pulled up his sleeve and roughly wiped it against Bonnie's face, as he awkwardly drew to a halt, gazing at the water that had dried on the fabric green sleeve of his coat, before looking back at a smirking Bonnie.

"Thanks" was all she said. She couldn't think of anything witty to say, this was Wyatt. Laid back Wyatt, a man she had never had drama with, her best friend back at the camp. Her and Wyatt would crack all the jokes, about old friends, stories from the past... etc... she didn't have a lover back. For once she had a friend, just a friend. Wyatt and Vince, her oldest friends were back and would support her.

"Wyatt did you find any..." came another voice from the undergrowth Bonnie had already located and hugged Vince before he finished the sentence, as a smirking Wyatt walked onto the scene.

"Yep, told you I heard Bonnie" He muttered proudly.

"Vince... thank God" she breathed into his coat, as she gazed at the asian man, he appeared the same as always and as Vince smiled back at her, she knew she felt good. For those few moments the original camp group were reunited, before Vince and her broke apart and Vince muttered "Bonnie, who else is with you? We heard screaming, we assumed it was you, but no one's in trouble right..."

"No, we gotta into argument of sorts, but everything's fine... Rebecca and Alvin are with me. and so are Mike and Christa" Bonnie spat the last two names out with a pronounced poison that did not go unnoticed.

"Seems like you were arguing with Christa and Mike" Vince drew up as a conclusion, as Bonnie nodded and looked behind her bitterly.

"They can explain it too you, I've grown real tired of em'

* * *

It was something of a happy reunion, Bonnie must have hugged everyone twice, from seeing the goofy Eddie again even to seeing Kenny again. Kenny desperately looking around at Rebecca, Christa, Mike and Bonnie and asked with urgency "Sarita isn't with you?" in which Rebecca sadly shook her head "No, I'm sorry Kenny we haven't seen her" in which Kenny swore and angrily stomped off to a nearby tree.

"Were fine by the way" Christa said after him, but this came to avail.

"So it's just been your four... well five" Vince asked, quickly adding AJ to the list after seeing the infant cradled in Rebecca's arms as Eddie pulled funny faces at the sleeping infant to Rebecca's bewildered amusement. Mike answered the Asian man's inquiry with "Yeah, just been us four, we ain't seen nobody else" as Vince nodded and accepted this information, as Bonnie merely scoffed.

"Wish there had been less of us" she snarled at him, as Mike sighed.

"Bonnie, for fuck's sake..." he groaned, as Eddie exclaimed "Oh-kay! What's up with you guys?" as Bonnie merely laughed at Eddie's words and told him "That's a good question Eddie, I'm sure Mike and Christa will be willing to answer_ all of it..." _

"We don't need this, not now" Christa snapped, looking serious as Bonnie merely giggled at the tall woman.

"Of course you do! You and Mike do! You're fucking like ferrets on heroin at every chance you can get! You need it more than anyone!" Bonnie mused, as Eddie looked at Bonnie in slight concern for her mental health, as he muttered under his breath "ferrets on heroin, have to use that phrase one day..."

"Wait, you and you are... oh Jesus Christ!" Vince exclaimed, as he pointed from Mike and then back to Christa, as the dots connected in his head, as he processed this information, Wyatt managed to get out "Dude you and Bonnie were like... at it. Cheating's kinda not cool..."

"I get that" Mike said wearily, he sounded exactly how he felt, and that was extremely stressed out and worn down.

"Look, this doesn't matter. At least we've found each other! and at least you're all still alive..." Vince's sentence trailed off, as his black eyes found the floor sadly, Rebecca's eyes widened when she realised that Kelly was noticeably absent and by Vince's sad expression, she felt something sink in her gut when she muttered "Oh no, Vince honey, tell me Kelly's okay" Vince didn't meet her eyes, and he didn't tell her that Kelly was okay. Mike caught on with the silence and called out "Vince" this brought the leader of their group back down to earth, as he looked up to the group members they had managed to reunite with.

"I saw her in the herd, Luke... the dude lost it. He shot in her head and I watched her..." he paused there, holding back tears as the picture of a walker Kelly with her guts hanging out of her stomach, returned to haunt him.

"No..." Rebecca muttered, lost for any words as Vince continued his tale.

"And then... that girl from the other group. Anne it was, Luke... Luke already got to her. Raped her, I came across them, I tried to talk some sense into him but it was useless. He shot me in leg, and then he killed the girl. If Kenny and the others hadn't arrived then..." Vince shuddered, as Bonnie's felt her blood turn to ice.

"L-luke? Luke did all that?" she asked in disbelief. Her heart sinking... the man she once loved. He had resorted to this?

"I knew that guy was fucking crazy, going into the herd like that. But fuck..." Mike muttered as Christa eyes remained as wide as saucepans, she knew Luke was a good man, a good man but a stressed man. She had her suspicions about him being with Clementine, but having them confirmed like this? With the rape and murder of a 15 year old girl? It made Christa shudder and put her stomach into knots.

"What happened to Luke?" Bonnie dared to ask, as Kenny re-entered the conversation as he muttered "We left that crazy fucker, Wyatt shot him in the knee's to cripple him and we left him to the walkers, the same way he left Kelly to the walkers. We didn't see him die, but no doubt about his stumblin' around out there, or he'll be the cult's latest accessory" Kenny's eyes were dark as Christa managed to speak up "Something must have pushed him over the edge, something made him snap" upon this comment Vince saw an opportunity arise and he took it, as he sadly claimed "I think I know what" as he produced Clementine's hat.

"I found this on the floor, not to far from where I saw Luke..." he paused there as Rebecca and Christa gasped and Bonnie felt another dull ache in her stomach, this day of loss and betrayal only got worse with each passing second, more unnoticed tears slid down her red face, as she wiped them away without much thought, Mike was dead to her now, and she now had the news that Kelly, Luke and Clementine were pushing up the daises.

"Oh God, not Clementine..." Christa sobbed, the imagine of the innocent 9 year old she once was, replaying in Christa's mind, as the tall woman felt regret clog her being, as she remained frozen in place, remembering all the times she scalded Clementine and watching the poor girl's face sink, as Christa hissed the harshest things at the girl...

"I don't believe it Vince"

Kenny had spoken, he stood tall among the shocked and grieving as he muttered "Clem's tougher than y'all think. She's fine, I know in my gut she's fine and so is Sarita and the others. If we can make it out, they can as well". Kenny was being stubborn Kenny once again, but something about the hope behind his words made Christa smile, as she looked down at Kenny and told him "You really think that?"

"I know it Christa, I know what a tough little girl she is, you should too, you were with her for a while" Kenny said clear as day, as Christa gulped "I know she's tough... I just... I can't handle the thought of her being dead Kenny. Not everything I've said to her" Christa seemed to whisper as Kenny acknowledged this with a nod. Both of them had done bad in the past towards the group. But both of them shared a nostalgic need to keep Clementine safe. Didn't they join Lee to help tear across Savannah to find her?

"We'll we aren't going to find them by just sitting here, we need to keep moving, we can't stay in the same place for too long" Vince instructed, as he led his small group onwards, many were reeling in shock from what they had heard, Bonnie and Rebecca especially as they were close to Luke and couldn't process the fact he committed such an atrocious crime. Despite Eddie, Wyatt and Kenny being there to convince them otherwise. Only Vince knew the full truth.

_"But sometimes a little white lie, does a world of good" _Vince thought to himself, recalling words he overheard Stephanie tell Shel in the pen almost a year ago.

* * *

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

An ear piercing scream, a familiar one that cut through Nick senses and snapped him out of his own little world and planted him firmly back into the forest he was in. He was sitting cross legged on the floor, and Sarah was screaming, screaming in terror and fear. Nick scrambled to his feet bellowing "SARAH!" realising that the 16 year old girl was no longer in his sights. He mentally cursed how useless he was, as another scream filled his eardrums. In sheer panic Nick sprinted and jumped over the undergrowth to reach her.

"SARAH HANG ON!" He yelled in desperation he was certain he wasn't going to make it, that Sarah would already be dead by the time he got to her. Yet to his sheer relief he got to her in the nick of time, a walker which was... hanging? Hanging in mid-air had it's tight arms wrapped and Sarah's throat as the 16 year old screamed and kicked at it, Nick flew forward without even thinking. He crashed into the walker, the thing swayed in mid-air. It's vice locks of hands prying themselves from Sarah's throat and grasping onto his arms, Nick panted in panic, expecting it to sink it's teeth into his arm at any second. Yet to his relief that didn't happen, so he was slowly able to wrestle himself from the walker's grip, with a final kick to the walker shin. Nick fell back and freed himself, landing flat on his back in the undergrowth, next to a shocked Sarah.

"I told you not to wonder off!" he scalded her, as Sarah merely panted, her eyes remained downcast before she started sobbing hysterically. Nick went to go and hug her, but with a surprising strength Sarah slapped his hand away, as the girl began to shake and twitch uncontrollably, kicking at the dirt below her.

"GET AWAY! DON'T TOUCH! DON'T TOUCH! DON'T TOUCH!" She repeated like a broken record, using every fibre of her being to fight off some invisible force, Nick swore under his breath and managed to pin Sarah to the ground as she head-butted at him and screamed every louder.

"DAMMIT SARAH! IT'S ME! NICK!" Nick roared at her, it was only after several of these yells, that Sarah slowly seemed to calm down, as she looked into Nick's blue eyes, yet she remained agitated as she muttered "I was walking Nick... he... the w-walker... just came up from behind me. Then I realised who that walker was... it-it was one of the guys who..." she paused there as Nick suddenly whipped around. The walker must have been in his mid thirties when he was alive, with a fine lock of blonde hair. His meaty hands once have much gripped... he could now understand why Sarah had freaked out as she did. To have the same man grip her in the way he did...

Nick stood up.

"He must have been part of Marisol's group" He muttered, gazing at the man. He hung from a tree branch, from a noose made of shoelaces. The man swung hungrily at the air in front of him, the rope digging into his neck, reminding Nick of the hung rebels he first saw when he and Sarah returned to Howe's. A quirky detail that caught Nick's attention was the fact the man wasn't wearing any shoes.

"You could blown your brains out, saved us some trouble" Nick thought darkly to himself, gazing into the walker's white eyes.

"Do you think other people did this?" Sarah asked, shakily getting to her feet, Nick offered to help her but she pulled away from his touch. Nick noticed this, ever since those men had their way with Sarah. She didn't hug Nick as often, or touch him.

"No, he did this. He killed himself" Nick muttered certainly, now aware of the bare winds slapping at his exposed arms. Sarah curious eyes naturally flew towards Nick's exposed arm. He didn't need to look at her, to know she could no doubt see everything. He sighed and waited for her to answer the question, as the setting sun made a haunting silhouette of a hung figure in Nick's eyelids.

"Why would he do that to himself?" Sarah inquired timidly of Nick.

"He must have had some humanity, realised how low he had sunk and he couldn't live with his shitty self anymore, so he thought he'd be better of dead" Nick explained to her, the tall man stood still, silently gazing at the swinging walker, waiting for Sarah to bring up his arm that she was no doubt staring at. Sarah connected the dots easily, she was a lot better thinking on her toes than she once was.

"Why do you do that to yourself?" Sarah's question floated over to Nick's ears, he smiled, in a way glad for his secret to be out. He turned to face the wide eyed girl as he pulled up the sleeve to his other arm, as Sarah gasped. On both arms lied scars for years of self harm, from recent cuts to old blotchy bruises, Sarah (in all the times she was with Nick, for all the times she had to patch him up) had somehow missed this sight. How? She had no idea, she never bothered to pull up his sleeves and only if she had... it made her realize there was so much more to Nick she needed to know about.

"I was 14 the first time I cut my wrist" he said simply.

Sarah didn't respond. She was too shocked.

"I kept on doing it whenever I felt shitty about myself. Sometimes I thought I was a burden on everybody, or sometimes I used to think what was the point of living if I wasn't enjoying it. Sometimes the pain was only distraction when things got really bad" he looked at the ground lifelessly, nobody other than Luke knew about his self-harm problem. It was one of those secrets Nick wanted to take to the grave with him, he was too proud to admit he struggled. He didn't want people fussing over him, he punished himself when he felt like he needed to be punished, that was the end of the story.

"Nick, when was the last time you hurt yourself?" Sarah asked, her lower lip wobbling.

"Right after I killed Arvo" he admitted with no emotion, it had been easy enough. He went out to get some wood for five minutes, it had been easy enough to use the silver hunting knife he had, to give himself the pain he felt he deserved. He never cut too deep, so his blood didn't flow or was too noticeable, especially with the many layers of clothes Nick now had on. As long as he had long sleeves, he could hide his problem.

"But that was the first time I've done it in a while, all the time at Howe's and with you... I felt like I finally had something to live for and now..." Nick thought aloud, as a few tears began to roll from his eyes as he felt Sarah crash into his waist and hug him tightly "Stop it! I want you to stop it!" she screamed, yet her screams were muffled as she cried into his coat. Nick bended down on his knee to get to eye level with Sarah, she sniffed, managing to mutter to him "I know you've done bad and stupid things Nick, but no one should ever hurt themselves or just give up. It's not right, it's scary..." she whimpered as Nick pulled her closer.

"When we left Howe's together that's why I grew so much on you Sarah. You never lost that innocence, or that optimism" he told her proudly as she muttered something unintelligible, Nick grinned and muttered "I know it seems scary Sarah, but... think about it. That man's dead, he did a horrible thing. It's good his dead right? It's good he did this?" Nick seemed to beg of her, as she gave a clear answer.

"It's not good Nick, no one must have been helping him. No one cared about him, he must have had no one to turn too, and that's why..." she gulped before she continued "That's why I grew on you Nick. I didn't think anybody wanted to care for a stupid liability, but you did and you have me to turn too. So don't, even think about it. Because I need you" she begged back of him, as Nick simply smiled and mumbled to her "I need you too Sarah" the pair of them broke apart, as Nick looked back at the hanging man.

"I want to do it" Sarah muttered to him, as Nick handed her the small pistol in his hand. Sarah took it and aimed carefully at the man's head.

Hours later, Nick and Sarah stared at the roaring camp-fire in front of them as night descended. With Sarah's convincing Nick had opened up to Sarita and Clementine about everything that happened with the hanging man... and himself. Sarita was snappy at Nick at first, lecturing him "How can you do that too yourself!?" before she softened up and gave Nick the motherly, fussy sort of treatment that he knew he was going to grow irritated of. Clementine was shocked at first, (judging by her silence) before she offered Nick's words of encouragement. Nick looked around the camp. he had friends, he had people to turn too.

"It feels fucking embarrassing, to be babied like this" He muttered to Sarah.

"You struggle Nick, I struggle Nick. It makes us human" Sarah told him.

She said the same thing when she shot the man in the head, or when she convinced Nick to tell Sarita and Clementine of his problems. "No one was there for this man, I don't want that to happen to you" Sarah told him sadly.

Nick, he was a man who had murdered God knows how people by this point, all for what? To keep the group safe? To keep Sarah safe? He knew he'd be willing to do a lot more bad actions that made him feel shit about himself to protect Sarah. He had Luke, he now had Sarita and Clementine, and he had friends. But no one managed to make him happy, or make him fight to live on, the way Sarah had. If something happened to her... then...

It would be Nick on that noose.


	27. The Icebreaker

**Okay, thanks again for all the support guys and I'm sorry to say I've gotten lazy once again and won't be answering your reviews, however Chameishida thanks for the drawings although I still can't see them (I tried the link you sent me and it denied me access or something like that) also the poll closes soon after this chapter, so this is your last chance to vote for your favourite character if you haven't already.**

**Okay, thanks for bearing with me (I'll get back on track and answering your reviews next chapter,) for now enjoy this one!**

* * *

"So... this is cozy"

Eddie muttered this as he gazed at Bonnie's miserable face, her deep blue eyes were trained on the crackling camp-fire in front of her, they had not wavered to any other group member ever since Vince had first set up the fire. For now the group members sat munching on their remaining canned foods, every one of them was now an expert in opening these cans. Eddie even boasted to Wyatt he could do it now without a sharp object, so as a dare the bearded man found himself using his bare hands to try and open canned food. (Which only resulted in a cut finger) a scowling Eddie had noted Bonnie was the only one not to laugh at his misfortune, hence he asked her "Hey, you alright?"

Realising that she was being addressed, Bonnie's eyes quickly flickered to Eddie and she seemingly whispered "I'm Fine" before her eyes found the fire once again (she blamed being around Luke to long, to say this). Her vision filling with images of the walkers her and Mike used to burn, Bonnie used to hate gazing into the flames knowing they could be the death of her. That they would be the things that destroyed her corpse and turned her into nothingness... but now there was a strange comfort by gazing into the destructive flames. A numb calm was soothing the redhead woman, that was until her and Mike's eyes connected, both gazing at the fire. He quickly averted his brown orbs as they gazed upon his new love... Bonnie had to resist the urge to vomit.

"So, we keep heading north. Is that the plan?" Wyatt asked of Vince, to break through the awkward silence around the campfire.

"Yep, we'll find the others, or at least I hope we do" Vince told them all, as Kenny eyed his worn red cap and gazed over Clementine's. His cap was just as worn as her's, he was alive and using this bizarre logic he made the assumption that Clementine was alive too.

"I know Clem will be fine. Sarita too" Kenny muttered, Sarita and his baby being the number one priority, despite his constant reassurances to himself that they were fine, Kenny still worried, he hardly slept. Visions of Sarita being ripped apart by walkers, or shot or even worse... they haunted his dreams. He awakened in a cold sweat and would take guard for the group. Hoping to see Sarita come stumbling out of the darkness, however she never came. The bags under Kenny's eyes grew forever heavier, something Rebecca had noticed instantly.

"Why don't we play a game, to lighten the mood" Rebecca suggested, AJ was moaning uncomfortably in her lap.

"What sort of game?" Christa asked, wondering what Rebecca had in mind, as the mother looked around, her eyes settled on a moaning AJ as she muttered "Well... whoever can get Alvin to settle down, by using any means necessary" she mused lightly, as Eddie's devious grin lit up the whole forest. He sprang to his feet and pronounced "Well, don't worry Rebecca I know how to entertain babies it's a piece of cake" and with this he grabbed three stones from the muddy floor and proceeded to juggle them with relative ease. Alvin stopped moaning and stared at the stones in curiosity.

"See, he likes it!" Eddie boasted, before he missed one stone, as they collapsed to the floor in heaps, as Alvin began to moan once again. Eddie looked downtrodden, but when Rebecca led the applause everyone followed, as he sat down beaming.

"I can almost envision you as a juggler, in one of those fancy hats... perhaps serving entertaining the queen of England or something" Mike commented, as Eddie smiled. This was before Wyatt spoke up "Actually, we did go to England the once. Eddie dressed up as one of those juggler things, I think that's where he learnt..."

"Did not. I knew how to do it beforehand" Eddie corrected him, as Wyatt muttered "Sure" as Christa asked another question.

"You've been England together?" she asked in wonder, as Wyatt and Eddie nodded, provoking another question from the African american woman "So... how long have you known each other?"

"Since you were knee high, from what you told me Wyatt" Bonnie answered for the duo, entering the conversation and answering Christa's question. Both Eddie and Wyatt nodded once again.

"Yeah me and Wyatt a few other guys been round the world, seen so many sights..."

"England and France in a nutshell" Wyatt added dryly cutting Eddie out of his glory talk.

"I'm imagining you were slowly working your way to Ibiza and that these holidays were you guys trying to get with girls" Christa predicted correctly, as Eddie added "and we succeeded!".

"Anyway I want to try and entertain Alvin now" Christa stated, as she stood up. Rebecca seemed to let her guard down as she allowed Alvin to gaze at the African american woman to stand on one toe to increase her height. She eventually fell down and took a bow to the clapping others, Alvin was transfixed as his wide green eyes nearly popped from his head. When Christa finished he returned to his distressed state.

"Have you been anywhere nice then?" Rebecca asked, trying to build some bridges with Christa, who nodded.

"Hawaii, Japan, Australia and Paris, loved them all. Me and Omid..." she paused there, as if recounting a painful memory before she managed to smile through her grief as she dreamed of those distant lands, as Wyatt openly asked "You've been to Japan. Awesome"

Christa beamed, "I went with my parents when I was kid, and went again with Omid when I was older. My parents loved all that samurai stuff and Omid... well he just wanted to see a square watermelon, he succeeded" she added with a slight laugh, as the group thought about happier times. Wyatt attempt to openly fart to amuse Alvin, only made him cry further, but made the group chuckle harder. Wafting the air in front of them, Christa managed to ask Rebecca "What about you? Did you ever go anywhere nice?"

Rebecca knew Christa may have trying to apologise to her through this question. So she accepted the apology by answering.

"Well, I went to Italy when I was kid, been to south Africa too. Since I've been with Alvin we've been all sorts of places, London, Paris, Sweden, China, New Zeland and we went skiing in Switzerland the once. It didn't end well" Rebecca recalled, remembering her holidays with Alvin. as Christa whistled in an impressed manner, "That's a lot of places" she commented.

"It is, but I loved Paris more than any of them..."

"Me too" Christa agreed instantly as they both babbled on about the architecture, the music, the food... the guys all looked at each other as Christa and Rebecca slowly bonded over the city of love.

"So, what about you Mike?" Eddie asked, (the game to impress a now dozing AJ was forgotten) as a new topic had arisen in it's place. Mike scratched his damaged ear and muttered "Well, went to Ireland the once and went to France on a school trip when I was little. Other than that I haven't been anywhere. But I do remember... I was doing my job... when the planes hit the world trade centre. I was actually stationed only 50 miles from New York at the time. Man I remember that. That was scary..." Mike recalled as Christa and Rebecca finished their conversation and listened into what Mike was saying. Bonnie already knew this.

"I remember that. I couldn't get off the couch I was so shocked, Alvin had to drag me" Rebecca said in awe.

"And those poor people, you saw some of them jumping... it makes you wonder where would have the war on terrorism gone, had this whole walker thing not happened" Christa asked of the group, as Kenny joined the conversation.

"Dunno' but George W fucking Bush better be rotting in a bunker somewhere, couldn't stand the guy..."

"Yes. We know you hate politics Kenny" Mike calmly told him in light humour, as Kenny muttered "Well, I am tempted to go down to DC if Wellington doesn't work out, impale the white house fuckers in the head myself" he told them all, as Vince laughed and added his bit to the conversation.

"You know, when I was kid I used to love visiting New York with my parents and my brother. I wish I could have been in New York when this shit started, of all the places in America we look like were in the shittiest" Vince told them, as the others nodded in agreement, gazing at the forest around him, as Christa muttered "Cities aren't a bright idea. But I'd love to see The . Helens national park..."

"No, Mount Rushmore! I promised Kajtaa and Duck I'd take them there one day, but..." Kenny paused sadly before ploughing on "Maybe... Sarita and the baby would like it" he concluded.

"Are we forgetting Vegas? Walkers or not, Vegas is a must do" Eddie informed them all.

"Or Hollywood! Imagine Walker celebrities! Or imagine what they have stocked with them!" Rebecca exclaimed, losing her head at the thought of the prospect, before she calmed down and sadly muttered "Probably been stripped bare by now though" as Christa added "Well I came from San Francisco. Me and Omid fled the city, but we didn't get to cross the Golden Gate bridge. It was shame, I loved that bridge, haven't thought about it much till now" Christa told them all, envisioning the bright red bridge in her mind, as the laughter died down somewhat.

"Man, you guys are tempting me to screw Wellington and just take off for Hollywood" Vince mused trying to pick up the mood once again.

"Well, at least we'd die on a clean beach with the sun shining. It is the end of the world, we can walk wherever we want and yet were choosing to stick the places people wouldn't walk into anyway? Man, if things get better that's my dream. To make the most of empty attractions and landmarks" Wyatt said to them, it was this statement that finally seemed to drag Bonnie out of staring into the fire, as she tuned into the conversation with a humorous remark.

"I see, you'd like to be a lone wonderer then Wyatt" she teased, as Wyatt muttered "I wouldn't be alone. I'd have a hot chick with me. I'd go to Hollywood and I'd find Mariah Carey alive and we'd take off into the sunset..."

"Yeah, dude, your celebrity crush is for one most likely dead. and two you'd always have a dummy to keep you company. If you craved it that bad..." Eddie pointed out, as Wyatt threw him into a headlock as the two play wrestled each other, for the group's amusement.

"What about you Bonnie, have you been anywhere nice?" Rebecca asked kindly of her, as the others all watched Eddie and Wyatt.

"Well if you count a school trip to Germany once, when I was 10. Then yeah... nice-ish" Bonnie mused, her family were poor growing up. Risen by a single mother living in a trailer, in the roughest parts of Texas. Bonnie had to scrape pennies together to afford that school trip. She loved the freedom of it, of being somewhere different. Maybe that why she could relate to Wyatt's crazy ambition... she was tired of the same old woods and holed up store's. Why not walk wherever the wind took you? The cult... must reach Wellington... the cult... must reach Wellington. The path felt so linear to the redhead woman, she just wanted freedom completely.

The group eventually settled down, in much higher spirits than they were before. Vince took first watch he watched them slowly as the drifted off. Despite Bonnie's longing for freedom, she knew it was likely to get herself killed. She knew she had to go to Wellington, but maybe one day she would see the world.

And as for Vince... who was Luke? He didn't know anymore.

This was his group now. He would led them to Wellington.

"I'm a good leader" he assured himself.

* * *

Clementine had to help Sarita aim the gun that night, having a one armed woman carry a hunting rifle... well it was a miracle how Sarita managed to aim and shoot the thing. But tonight Sarita was fatigued, her grip was shoddy, she handed the somewhat heavy rifle towards Clementine. Clementine encouraged that they should have gone back, that it was dark and Sarah and Nick would be worried if they woke up and they weren't there.

But Sarita was adamant that they stay, the needed a good breakfast to get them going and keep them active throughout the day. and suddenly Sarita wasn't holding the heavy gun anymore, Clementine was.

"If something happens to me. I want you to learn how to fend for yourself" she told the 12 year old, as Clementine looked through the rifle in a growing panic.

"Sarita! It's too heavy I can't shoot through this..." Clementine breathed in panic, as Sarita shushed her, and whispered "When out here Clementine, when approaching the prey. I want you to speak this quietly, if you speak any louder you will scare off game, understood?" Clementine silently nodded, Sarita had already told her this and she was silent on hunting trek's with Sarita. But now with the gun in her hands it became much more real to Clementine.

"Now, don't put your hand there... put it there" Sarita instructed like a fussy mother drawing one of Clem's hands further down the rifle as she smiled "See it helps create more balance"

"My arms are starting to ache" Clementine complained dully, she had a long day. But Sarita was assertive that Clementine needed to learn this as soon as possible. Sarah loved animals, and wasn't ready for this and Nick... well Sarita had learned day how troubled the young man's mind was. He was a poor shot anyway, so it fell down to Clementine.

"Aim down the scope, there we go. See that squirrel" Sarita whispered into Clementine's ear, as she nodded and whispered back "It's too far away, even through the scope I can't hit it".

"Approach it slowly, bend over so the undergrowth covers you from vision,now I want you too creep forward on your tiptoes, be as quiet as possible Clementine" Sarita informed her, as Clementine obeyed her. Creeping forward was no different from what Clementine used to do when sneaking up on one of her friends, but out here, she was wary of every risk of something snapping below her, like a fallen twig. She swiftly moved her small shoulders so they avoided rustling against an large leaf, or blade of grass. Raising her gun once again, Clementine was now in range of the squirrel. It was leant on the tree, it's black eyes oblivious...

Clementine knew what to do, Sarita always shot it in the head. She (holding her breath and feeling sweat trickle down her face) pulled the trigger.

The squirrel went rigid and collapsed into the undergrowth, Clementine gasped, the force of the hunting rifle throwing her back somewhat into the earth, but she remembered back at the ski lodge when she went flying after firing a single shot.

This time the rifle may have moved her, but she kept her grip on it. She was becoming stronger.

Sarita ran over and pulled the dead squirrel from the undergrowth, she inspected the thing before running back over to Clementine "Excellent Clementine, excellent!" she mused, as Clementine could see she hadn't shot the squirrel in the head, but in the neck . It still killed the thing, but it wasn't a clean shot.

"I missed the head and hit the neck" she commented miserably.

"That doesn't matter! That is a fantastic feat for your first shot! All you need is practice and your aim will improve" Sarita mused to her, as Clementine felt a smile worm it's way onto her face. Sarita was teaching her the things, Christa hadn't. Maybe (even if alone) she would now have the skills to survive in the wilderness. She didn't want her friends to die all over again, but if she got separated from them... than this would help.

Under Sarita's praise Clementine beamed, ready to present Nick and Sarah with a good breakfast in the morning. Nick needed it especially after what Clementine learnt about him yesterday and Sarah was still shook up about the whole hanging man incident. The group were now wary of Marisol being nearby and her group seeking revenge on their's.

But for now, Clementine cast these troubles aside. The group were going to have a good breakfast, that was all there was too it.

* * *

"FINALLY!" Stephanie roared in relief.

Luke's pace had been slowing during the nights they had spent out in the open. The wolves had been drawing ever nearing. Luke had insisted more than once that she leave him. But Stephanie couldn't live with herself, what if Nick found out she left his best friend to die? How would she live with herself?

Besides she wanted to see Vince punished, he had blamed her for what had went wrong with the group in the past. He acted so high and mighty and it grated on her sometimes, but after seeing what he did... she wanted him punished. and she wanted Luke to be the one to do it. She wanted Carver punished and Luke had granted her that wish, not doubt Vince would meet an even worse fate. Besides, Luke _deserved_ this revenge. After all Vince had put him through...

For now Stephanie was roaring in relief, as she had finally seen a wooden door in front of her, a building! a shelter! By this point she may as well have been dragging Luke across the undergrowth, but she when she exclaimed to him "LUKE! THERE'S A DOOR AHEAD!" he managed to bolt towards the building. Using the last of her stamina Stephanie followed him inside the somewhat stuffy wooden building as Luke slammed the door shut, the pair of them looked around wildly.

The building was stripped bare no doubt, but still the remains of wooden frames of beds were still present in rows. The mattresses absent, there was no first floor. Luke knew what this building once was.

"It must have been a boy scouts camp" he recalled, as Stephanie looked at him and muttered "You sure, it could be a girl's scouts camp for all you know" however Luke shook his head and muttered "No, me and Nick used to be boy scouts when we were kids. Went off to summer camps like this. It was a blast, forests, lake's, sunshine and earning medals of course" he added as a cheeky afterthought, as Stephanie couldn't help but grin slightly at his comment.

"You're so much like him you know?" she told him, no doubt she was talking about Nick.

"I know" he muttered, but he thought very differently, him and Nick were not alike. Nick was different to him in many ways, and growing up with him just confirmed how very different they were.

"Look here" Luke added pointing at an old sign, he wiped off a layer of dust with his coat sleeve, to read the sign _"Monty Forest Summer Camp an all boy's camp. founded in 1886" _it read to Luke's smug satisfaction and Stephanie's scowl.

An hour or two later, Stephanie and Luke had managed to drag one of the wooden beds across the single door of the wooden building. A quick search of the small building confirmed there was nothing left for them to take. So Stephanie settled down, propped up against the wall next to Luke. The two of them hidden underneath a small four paned window. Listening the faint scratching noises coming from the door in front of them, and the occasional moan of a wolf.

"It'll hold" Luke told a worried Stephanie silently, as the two leaned closer together. Although they weren't outside, cold gales still funnelled into the building causing the pair to shiver as the wolves continued to growl and scratch at the door.

"If we had been out there an hour longer..." Stephanie thought aloud, as Luke looked down sadly. She was glad this building was here.

Eventually the wolves whined and departed, their hunted prey seemingly gone. Stephanie wondered whether or not they would linger or find new prey, either way, for now the pair were safe. As she looked down at Luke, despite his leg wounds healing rapidly he still had trouble walking on them.

"You better rest up for tonight, and maybe we can stay another day. We have enough supplies to last and we want to move at a serious pace you need to be able to walk" she lectured him, as Luke silently nodded. Stephanie knew what to do at this point, she pulled the flare from her pocket.

"You know why Lilly gave you that now. Don't you?" Luke asked of her, Stephanie gazed at the flare in her hands.

"She knew I'd get lost, in some way. Whether I ran away, or whether this happened. This flare was to get me back to the group. But right now it will bring the group to us. We have a building we can rest in, we can stay here. They'll be able to find us. But we have to do this tonight or tomorrow morning. The group or what remains of them will be moving north fast, if we delay this too long they won't see the flare" she told Luke, Luke had to agree with her logic.

"What am I that bad for company?" Luke asked of her, as she laughed.

"No, you're great company Luke. I just... I can't do it alone" she muttered at last as Luke smiled. All that Lilly and Nick had tried to teach her, being alone... it never worked. Not out here, she couldn't do it. She had finally admitted she needed the group back and Luke knew the significance of her words too.

"Glad to know you're stickin' around Stef" he mused, as she smiled back at her the man she knew was her true leader. As she prepared to step outside to fire the flare, Luke stood by and gazed out of one of the windows, his eyes widened.

"Stef, it's snowing" he said simply, as Stephanie nearly crashed into the window. She-loved-snow.

It was snowing indeed, chunky snowflakes feel rapidly and endlessly into the dark night. It was heavy snow, as Stephanie smiled to herself and muttered to Luke "So... you up for a snowball fight?" Luke didn't respond to her, it was then she realised that Luke wasn't looking at her at all. But was peering into the darkness ahead of him.

"It's snowin' so it's got to be freezing now" he muttered to himself, as Stephanie gazed at him puzzled.

"Yeah, Luke what are you...?" she began to ask before he cut her off, his plan was in mind.

"It's a clear place. If we set it off here when Vince and the others come along they can hide behind corners or behind tree's. If we set the flare off on there, they'll walk out to it. They'll walk out to see me and from there I can get Vince. I can shoot the fucker, or make the ice crack and break, I just can't have him around Clem, even if I die..." he muttered, his brown eyes were trained on something that suddenly loomed in Stephanie's view, as she gasped.

"Luke! No fucking way!" she screamed.

He wanted to set the flare off on that! He wanted to face Vince on that!

"Luke this isn't fucking street fighter! That could crack at any minute, that's damn right dangerous! That...!"

"...Is more likely a place where it will be easier to kill Vince" Luke added, also a true fact.

He was gazing at a frozen lake.


	28. Luke The Grim Reaper

**A/N: Okay, on we go, and the poll has closed. Thanks to everyone who voted, Clem took 1st place. With 8 Votes.**

**The runner up was Luke with 5 Votes, In Joint Third place were Nick and Sarah both with 4 votes, In 4th place all with 2 votes, were Stephanie, Rebecca and Eddie. and in 5th place with 1 vote each were Kenny and Sarita. **

**Leaving Christa, Mike, Bonnie, Vince and Wyatt all tied last with no votes. So that may spell danger to their characters later on... or maybe it won't, but I do take the votes into consideration and once again thank you for everyone who voted! **

**AquaDestinysEmbrace- You'll have to wait and see, to as whether or not Vince gets what's coming to him and as for Anne's bandanna, it will make an appearance this chapter. As I do have a good use for it later on. Thanks for your reviews! **

**BloodyClementine- A lot of love for Luke from the reviewers and as for the lake... hold your breath (that was a bad pun) **

**Kristal-Dynamite- Thanks for your long review! and I liked the point you raised about Sarita, as Kenny thinks of her so often, doesn't she think of him? It's a question I will answer this chapter and keep your reviews coming! as I love to hear your views about the characters and the situations they are in.**

**Chameishida- Quite simply thanks for your reviews and your fanart has been amazing, I loved the one you did for chapter 23, Sarah, Sarita, Lilly and especially Clementine were drawn exactly as I pictured them. You even included Clementine's orange coat and wild hair and seeing her like that was awesome! Nick was also well drawn just in this story he doesn't have his cap on him (I'm not criticizing, as Nick is hard to draw without his cap, I still loved how you drew him). I actually like reviewing your art and your one for the last chapter had me laughing, the lake is back bitches! Screw the cult and Marisol's group the lake is here and ready to kick ass (in your case hopefully not Luke's but I can't promise anything).**

**Rebloxic- Again, a lotta Luke love here.**

**NN010- Thanks for your review! **

**ffapathy- Liking your predictions and thoughts on the story and I can't wait to hear more from you! **

**Zombieslayer99 and Lockdown- Liked both of your observations on Vince (and Zombieslayer99 I think Lockdown's answer pretty much sums up my own).**

**and thank you to everyone else who reviewed/read the story so far! and now on with the chapter!**

* * *

"Luke, what can the hell can I do to stop you from doing this!?"

"Nothing" Luke responded in a surly tone, the snow had stopped and in the dark night, the young southern man trudged his way through layers of crunchy snow to get to where the lake stood waiting for him.

"Luke! Listen to me, the flare could attract anyone! Have you given a fleeting thought about... oh I don't know... maybe a giant ass cult behind us! and we've been moving at a snail's pace so we'll be behind the others! Their not going to come back to inspect some dodgy flare..."

"They know you have a flare. If Vince doesn't come running I know Nick will. and besides weren't you planning to set it off anyway" he inquired of Stephanie, turning on his heel, to gaze at the red faced woman behind him.

"Yeah, I was planning to set it off when we were in a building! Somewhere defend-able! If the cult appear when can flee, but we'll be safe from Wolves and safer in there from bandits! and out in the open... anyone can shoot you!" Luke's blank face told her, that he either wasn't listening to her, or her words weren't making the slightest difference to his set state of mind.

"Maybe the flare isn't such a good idea at all..." Stephanie mumbled, the viscous whistling of the winter wind through the pine trees, omitting her voice slightly yet Luke still heard it as a small silence engulfed the pair. Stephanie's eyes locked on the flare held tightly in her numb, red fingers. Did she really need the group? Could she still go it alone? Now was her chance, she could give Luke the flare let him do what the hell he wanted. She wasn't a part in this, she wasn't important she could flee the group. Never see them again and not grow on them again...

"What's your plan then?" Luke asked of her suddenly as Stephanie looked up, she found her answer instantly.

"We wait. We wait for your wounds to heal, walk along at a nice pace and then try and find the others and not risk the flare..." Stephanie trailed off, something in her argument sounded very weak. Although the words made sense, there was no motivation behind them. Luke wiped growing strands of his hair from his brown eyes and approached Stephanie.

"I know you're scared of seeing the group again" he said flatly. Stephanie didn't deny it, she only shook harder because that was the truth. She was terrified of seeing them again... from the likelihood of being murdered by Vince, to see something bad happening to Nick or Lilly. She was shivering uncontrollably and it wasn't just because of the cold.

"I'm scared too. But Stef... it has to be now. I don't care who the hell it attracts, as long as Vince is there I'll be happy. and I need you to back me up. You saw what he did, I need you there Stef! I need you there to convince the others, I can't do it without you!" he was seemingly begging of her now to stand by him. To get herself tangled up in a serious group matter, something she had been trying to avoid, in all her times at Howe's.

But for some reason, no matter how hard she tried she always ended up in the fray anyway.

Her abortion had been the trigger for a violent rebellion in which her best friend was killed in.

Her reclusive nature had led to her to being a prime suspect in the meds incident and afterwards she messed up again, stealing the truck and getting it destroyed. it was all her fault they were stuck like this. Out in the open and why the group was going to hell. If she hadn't stole that damn truck and actually waited and checked if Nick was alive. The cult wouldn't have caught up with them, they would have never come across Marisol's group. Vince would have never...

She shuddered, "Leaving's fuckin' stupid" Nick's words echoed in her head, she wanted to leave so badly. But... she couldn't because she was responsible for this mess, she had to grow up and face her responsibility rather than run and hide from them. Vince was her mess.

She felt the first freezing tear slide down her cheek as she handed Luke the flare.

So she would help clear the mess.

"Do...do what you have to" Stephanie sobbed, the overwhelming guilt causing her to break down as Luke threw his arms around her, as she sobbed into his shoulder. "I'm sorry... I got us here... I" she blubbered mindlessly her guilt leaking out of her in fragmented pieces. Luke straightened up and ran his hands through his hair.

"I'm going to go out to the lake, I'm setting the flare off in the middle of the lake and I'm going to wait there until Vince comes along. Hopefully he'll be drawn out and for you Stef. I want you to be on guard when they come along, or when anyone comes along you explain the truth to them. You can take refuge in the building if you want, but I'm staying out here" he said, a determination in his eyes, as he approached the lake. Stephanie felt an automatic need to stop him, as she charged forward, Luke turned around as she paused in her tracks, they were inches apart.

"What?" Luke asked blankly.

"You'll be cold, it's dangerous on there" she nagged helplessly, Luke didn't reply, he didn't need too. Stephanie knew vengeance was on his mind and there was no stopping him at all, but she had to try.

"I know what Vince did too you was outrageous! But...!"

"BUT NOTHIN'!" Luke exploded causing Stephanie to jump "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT'S IT'S LIKE STEF! AFTER EVERYTHING THAT MAN PUT ME THROUGH! I CAN'T BE MORALE WITH HIM! NO MATTER HOW HARD I TRY! I CAN'T... I CAN'T... LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN...!" He trailed off once again as the conclusion suddenly dawned on Stephanie's face. It wasn't just vengeance that was propelling Luke to act, like her he was acting because of guilt. Her face softened as she muttered "Jane..."

"It was my fault. I can't let Vince stick around... that girl Anne. Her life was used as a puppet for Vince's power that could be Clem or Nick next. I can't let what happened to Jane or Anne happen to them. I can't go through that again knowing it's my fault" he gulped down, as if holding back a wave of tears. He turned and stomped towards the lake, before a firm hand on shoulder whipped him around.

"What!?" he demanded again, in a harsher tone.

"Despite what you think I do know what's it's like Luke. If I hadn't had stolen that truck we wouldn't be here, people wouldn't be dead. I can't lose Shel again or Boyd or Roman... If Vince is endangering the group I can't see Lilly or Nick get hurt, so In a way... this crazy plan better be right" she muttered as she thrust a coat at him "You'll need the extra layers, you'll get cold" she told him simply as Luke put on the maroon coloured coat and mused "Toasty" as he looked back at Stephanie.

"Won't you need this?" he asked.

"I'll be inside watching, I'll be fine" she reassured him, as he looked up at her again.

"One minute you're crying you give me the flare. The next you're against the plan again and now here you are giving me the green light. I can tell you've had a hard time making your mind up, but, why agree to it?" he finally asked in curiosity, Stephanie took a deep breath before answering.

"Like I said, part of this is my fault I can't let people I love get hurt because of it".

She turned on her heel, looking back to see Luke step cautiously onto the crystal clear icy lake, his black shoes slid a little on the ice, put he walked forward slowly, "IT HOLDS!" He announced to Stephanie's smile.

"Good! But if it cracks or anything! Get off it, You're can't kill Vince if you're already dead!" she yelled to him as he responded with a "AYE! AYE! CAPTAIN! Causing her to chuckle slightly, even at his most serious, Luke's inner dork unleashed itself, she watched him cautiously step further onto the frozen Lake, reaching the centre of it. Luke stood on the ice, he actually jumped up and down on the spot causing Stephanie to hold her breath in horror, before she realized that Luke's weight held.

Confident that the lake was stable, the reckless man raised his arm, the tiny silver gun shaped object glistened in the moonlight.

_"I'm coming back Lilly, I promise I'll do what's best for the group" _ Stephanie thought to herself, just as there was a resounding POP and a bright red flare shot high above the treetops, the bright red light illuminating the lake and nearby tree's and could no doubt be seen for miles in every direction.

"This is it" Stephanie said aloud to empty air, her stomach turning into knots, who would turn up? What could they expect? Unknown bandits? Vince himself? Wolves? Whatever it was Stephanie knew this flare would not go unnoticed, she crept back into the boy's scout building as the flare continued to glow overhead. Her gun which had 8 bullets left and her knife was all she had on her, she readied herself to fire it.

Knowing _something_ was coming, she could feel it in her bones.

She blocked the door once again and store at Luke, through the small window of the wooden building. He had a small pistol locked in hand, which he cleverly concealed from view under his layers of clothing and a small knife on him like Stephanie's along with the trademark food and drink. Stephanie sighed and looked at her own supplies, she was running low.

Despite lugging their supplies all over the forest, she had kept her guitar on her, she couldn't lose it. Even she didn't have a time to play it was her guitar. Something she earned for her 10th birthday something she leant to Becca when she taught the girl to play. Something that survived Howe's and everything afterwards, she thought now was the time to hum a tune, and looked around for inspiration her eyes flew to the window once again.

The flare was going out, but she suddenly saw Luke's expression he looked horrified.

Luke himself was petrified of dying, of what would happen to him when they others arrived, He accepted Vince would most likely kill him, or that he would die on this lake. It was a reckless plan, a stupid plan, but one he was willing to go through to protect the one's he loved.

Stephanie understood this, and sang away...

_"and at his feet, they'll cast their golden crown,_

_When the man comes around..." _

* * *

Kenny was on guard, so when he heard the distant POP! His bark like eyes flew to the source of the commotion, it didn't take him long to locate the sound of the noise. As a distant bright red dot lit up the night sky.

"GUYS WAKE UP! LOOK AT THIS! LOOK AT THIS!" He bellowed, shaking the others violently, although groggy the others (once awake) were instantly on guard. Thinking either walker or bandits had attacked and with their sharp senses they were alert instantly. Only to calm down slightly to realise that no one was attacking and it was merely Kenny jabbing his finger at something.

"OVER THERE! OVER THERE!" He yelled.

Following the bearded man's finger, they all looked upon a bright red light in the distance, eyes widened and brows lifted, as Kenny instantly came to a conclusion.

"SARITA'S GOTTA BE BACK THERE!" He yelled, failing to think it through completely as Mike shook his head and muttered "Dude, Stephanie had a flare on her. Last time I recalled that has got to be her's" he informed the group as Kenny counter argued him "So what if it's Stef's, Sarita's might be with her!" he shouted as Rebecca nodded her head.

"He might be right" She told them all, as Kenny beamed at his vote of confidence, his brown eyes were peeled on the dying flare as he muttered "It came from the south, we just go straight and we'll find em" he instructed already preparing to stand up, as Vince spoke up "Hang on a minute, how do we know that's Stef's flare? Are you forgetting that there's a fucking cult behind us! A fucking cult who outnumber us ten to one and have all kinds of technical shit...!"

"I'll shove their technical shit up their asses then! The flare's Stef's and she's using it cause she's in a tight spot! and for we all know Sarita could be with her, or she could be headin' towards the flare as well" Kenny ranted, as Vince gulped, he didn't like the thought of his perfect group being disrupted, but then again if he could save Stephanie from death, his image of him being a good leader would be solidified. Luke would be the most distant memory and maybe one day, Vince would convince himself that "Luke" never happened.

Ever since his first choice he had that yearning for power.

Justin and Danny, the gun was in his hand, he had the power. Power. Something he craved, something he needed for stability, he was a good for nothing murderer otherwise, but with power, he could be great.

And he would be great.

"His right, it's not just Stef and Sarita, Clementine could be there. Nick, Lilly, Sarah and Arvo!" Christa argued, as Vince mind slowly came to it's conclusion.

"Come on man, I know it seems reckless but if that is the others and they are in trouble, added to the fact we can outrun the cult and we'll be careful..." Wyatt urged of Vince, as the Asian man gulped and made his last decision for the group.

"Alright then, pack your things were heading south" Vince said as he pulled out his map, just as the flare died off in the distance. Shining a flash-light on the thin piece of paper in his fingers he carefully observed where the flare could have been coming from. The dots seemed to connect in his head, the green of the forest was highlighted on the map, but there was also a mismatched shape of blue which clearly represented a lake.

"It's coming from a lake!" Vince yelled to his group, as heads perked up in interest and people finished packing their supplies.

"They might have found a shelter and tried to draw us all together, hell we need it" Rebecca said shivering as she held AJ closer to her chest. The earlier snowfall they had left a thin (but sticky) layer on the forest floor. It was getting colder and the group were in need of a roof over their heads. Especially little AJ, who was turning more blue every day he spent out in the cold, despite Rebecca smothering her child in extra layers to keep him warm.

"Let's hope nobody's drowning" Eddie joked morbidly, but nobody laughed, the thought was all on their minds, that the rest of the group were in trouble and needed help as quickly as possible. Kenny was ready first and itching to go ahead, impatiently he called back towards the others, eventually Rebecca had to tell him "Slow down!" as he was walking ahead at a faster pace. With their guns at the ready, the group proceeded towards the lake. Vince was generally curious to see who had sent the flare up. They knew it would attract attention, whoever sent it up knew it was risky. Was it the scattered remains of his group trying to contact him and the others despite the risk?

Had Alex's group sent up another flare as a sick sort of joke? Had one of them killed his group and stolen Stephanie's flare and was now luring them in using that? Was it dreaded cult themselves? For some reason Vince didn't think so, the cult were somewhat evasive from what he gathered. He had not heard a single horn since the night Kelly died, but always had that odd feeling that the cult were silently watching them. They weren't the sort to send up a flare, it didn't seem like them.

Then who could it be?

Vince's black eyes trailed on Eddie's form who was walking along beside Vince, a gun in his fingers. Jumping over a small log, Vince managed to mutter "Eddie"

The humorous turned at the sound of Vince's voice and muttered "Hey, what's up dude?"

Vince got straight to the point, "Look, after last time don't shoot unless you see any of Alex's group. Or any cult member? Understood? Because if you screw up the situation again..." Vince finished his threat there, as Eddie nodded, a frown spreading on his face as he was reminded of his last screw up.

"I promise" Eddie replied sullenly, no humour in his voice which was rare for him. Vince smiled and continued his trek over snapping twigs and crunchy brown leaves under the thin layer of grey-ish snow in the undergrowth.

Vince just wanted to ensure that Eddie was in-line, Eddie was a funny guy but he messed up that once and he spoke too loud and couldn't handle stressful situations well. He wasn't an ideal survivor in a world like this. Vince had no plans to kick him out of the group at all.

However Vince knew that if Eddie screwed up too badly, or did something to endanger the group, he would have too leave Eddie behind, he wasn't a murderer, he just made the best decisions for the group and if Eddie slowly started to become a liability than Vince would have to exile him.

Cutting off loose ends. He wanted his group to stay perfect.

Vince was unaware in those moments, of how much like Carver he had truly became.

* * *

Clementine, Nick, Sarah and Sarita were all awake when the flare went up into the sky, it was a only a few miles away at most.

The four of them had been awoken by Sarah's excited squeals that it was snowing, rubbing her tired eyes Clementine felt the soft and flaky chunks of frozen water fall onto her shoulders and tangled black hairs, staining them a whiter colour. "It's really exciting isn't it!" she mused to a groggy looking Nick who wiped the snow off his blue coat.

"Don't go playing in it. It's cold enough as it is" he lectured her, when Sarah went on about building a snowman.

"There isn't enough snow to build a snowman Sarah" Clementine added sadly, however she childishly held out her palm and watched a few of the snowflakes melt in her small hands. However she soon regretted this when her hands started to tingle uncomfortably and so she shoved her hands back into her pockets.

"I just wanted to do something fun, after everything that's happened" Sarah mumbled sadly as she slumped by Nick and looked up at the black sky, with saddened brown orbs behind her ever-present glasses. Nick sat beside her and murmured "Maybe when we get to Wellington we can build a snowman Sarah, hell I'm still a big kid inside too" he admitted guilty as can be, as Sarah's face lit up the dark night.

"Yes, this is also good for maintaining meat. We can keep large game we kill with us as meat will remain frozen at these temperatures and not spoil" Sarita informed them all, to their delight, so despite the gusty winds and snow threatening to extinguish their one source of warmth that came in the form of the campfire, the snow raised morale a bit in that small group.

They were all trying to settle down once again before the flare went up, causing Nick too bolt upwards.

"It's Stef's!" he came to conclusion instantly, as he scurried towards his bag, as Clementine stared at the flare in disbelief.

"Wait a minute, it might not be. Nick, do not be reckless, it could the cult or anything..." Sarita lectured to no avail as Nick turned sharply to her "That's Stef's flare! Lilly gave her one! She must be using it now because... fuck! I dunno, she could be in trouble or worse. Either way whoever set that off wants attention and for all we know Kenny could be with them..."

Sarita's eyes seemed to go vacant for a few seconds before she slung her own bag over her shoulder and extinguished the camp-fire, the sizzling and the smoke of the dead fire seemed to spring Clementine into action.

"Girls! Get up, Nick's right we have to move!" she instructed of them more harshly than her usual self, Clementine was already packing her stuff, but Sarah was more reluctant, as she openly asked "What if it is dangerous? We can't just walk into..."

"SARAH SHUT UP!" Sarita screamed suddenly, as Sarah flinched horribly. There was a few seconds of silence as it suddenly became clear to Clementine. Sarita had been focusing on teaching her how to hunt. Helping the group, but it occurred to her now why Sarita was doing that. She was worried far too much about Kenny, she had driven herself to do other things to try and distract herself, but underneath all that she was desperate to get back to the man she loved. Clementine noticed she hardly ever spoke about Kenny, she didn't want to think about him for too long or else it would drive her insane.

"Kenny's okay Sarita, his tough. He'll come to where the flare is as well, because he'll be looking for you" Clementine told the silent Indian woman, as Sarita blinked a few times, as she sniffed slightly and muttered "I... I know that. I am so Sarah I just want to see Kenny again so badly..." she explained, although Sarah looked hurt, she wasn't crying as Clementine was expecting her too. It seemed as if Sarah was getting stronger by the day.

"We'll find him, Stef too. We've got nowhere else to go and we can't miss this chance" Nick explained to them, as Sarah nodded and seemingly accepted their urges to move. Packing up herself, she, Clementine, Nick and Sarita ran through the dense vegetation, in order to get to spot where the flare had once glowed.

"It was that way! I remember it well, we just have to keep going straight ahead!" Sarita exclaimed.

Clementine ran on, her gun in hand and her heart beating rapidly against her ribcage. This new development had come so fast, she barely had any time to think it through, of what this could possibly be.

But she prayed for the best. Which was a dangerous thing to do in these dark days.

* * *

Marisol saw the red light go off in the distance, it was a flare.

"Someone's having a party. Looks like everyone's invited" she said on monotone, the two guys behind her leant forward to see what she was looking at. Ever since they found their group member dead a few days ago (due to suicide, Marisol grew enraged that he had given up on life and left him and the other two guys couldn't stomach it to shoot him, as he was a close friend of their's and his death had shocked and surprised them) morale was low in their camp.

The other two guys had become very aware of the pieces of shit they now were. Raping that girl...for what? Vengeance? Their friend had given up on life and their original plan to get to Wellington was in absolute tatters they had no idea where they were.

and as for Marisol, she thought differently. The Spanish woman still had a drive in her to get to Wellington and settle some old scores. They had killed Anne and now Josh (they had fled the scene, but she heard Josh's cries and the gunshots ringing behind her). Marisol didn't know who set off the flare, but she had a very good idea.

"Come on boys, it'll be that asshat group again" Marisol said, turning around only to find them running off into the undergrowth, babbling like babies, Marisol rolled her eyes, the two men fleeing from her. She could hardly blame them, they didn't have the stomach for this type of thing anyway, she did. They had no reason to get into another fight with that group, they just ran away like the cowards they were.

"I'm not a coward, I'll avenge you Anne and you Josh" she thought as she placed Anne's bandanna onto her forehead in memoir to the dead 15 year old girl she had grown very attached too. Marisol was a survivalist, but she knew she wouldn't survive unless that group was wiped out first. She trained her eyes on the fading flare and smiled to herself.

"Time to party"

* * *

The group reached the lake, they all saw him, they didn't believe it.

"I thought we fucking killed that bastard!" Kenny growled gazing at Luke's prone form in the middle of the lake, he simply sat on the cold ice, facing away from them, as every thought in Vince's brain froze.

"What the hell is he doing! How'd he get away from the walkers?" Christa asked in disbelief, the group were crouched in the bushes near to the lake, whispering in hisses so that their voices wouldn't go overheard.

"I don't know, but his sitting on a fucking frozen lake. It could crack at any second, what is he thinking!?" Rebecca hissed gazing at a man she could once call a good friend.

"I don't know what's his doing, but I should have finished him off. I guess now I will, stay here. Too much weight on the lake might cause it too crack" Vince said, as he bolted up and ran onto the frozen lake, ignoring Rebecca's warning of "Vince no!" completely, he silently landed on the blue-ish ice of the lake his footsteps had caused a slight noise. But that was all that was needed for Luke's dangling head to perch upwards and for his body to go stiff.

Vince smiled pulling his gun from his holster, how Luke had survived he had no idea. But for now he would wipe out the last shred of evidence against him. He took a few more gallant steps towards Luke, just to ensure his bullet's didn't miss the southern man. Yet as Vince approached, Luke swiftly got to his feet and turned around to face Vince. A pistol was evident in Luke's fingers that was trained on Vince's form.

A stand-off was already in place, Vince looked at Luke in horror, wanting this nightmare of a pest to just fucking die! To leave him be!

Luke on the other hand looked overjoyed. He assured himself his bullet would not miss the man he hated with all of his heart.

"Howdy Vince" Luke mused.


	29. Centre Cannot Hold

**A/N: Okay, now this story is the 5th most reviewed on the site, overtaking No Going Back? In terms of reviews and It will makes me motivated to know that in less than 30 chapters I'm nearly on 400 reviews! It's amazing! I can't thank you guys enough, but I hope this chapter (the one you've all been waiting for, does you all justice) **

**Chameishida- I knew you'd be worried about Luke, I imagine this chapter you'll be scrolling down the page cautiously, just wanting to know that's Luke's alive at the end of this chapter. Or will he be? (Laughs in an evil manner) I really feel like Telltale now! **

**Ayuka86- A whole lotta love for Luke I see! **

**Zombieslayer995- I hope the next few chapters do you justice! Glad you're enjoying the fic! **

**santiago. poncini20- A new reviewer, why thank you for your kind words! as well as those ideas you sent me, I'm glad you're enjoying this fic**

**Rebloxic- Nice parallel not even noticed that until you pointed it out. Thanks for your reviews as always!**

**Guest- Bonnie and Luke? Seems like the Lonnie ship is sailing over here**

**Addibobaddi- Liking your predictions for the story and you'll see which chapter, which way the story is going to take.**

**AquaDestinysEmbrace- Yep, you can say Vince was complete dick for wanting Eddie to go, but I wanted to get into his mindset and similar he was to Carver. Reggie was likeable yet Carver killed him for screwing up. Eddie is likeable yet Vince is reaching the stage where any threat to his group is to be disposed of. **

**Bubbles2k100- Glad you thought the last chapter was the best! Looking forward to hearing your review this chapter.**

**Kristal Dynamite- Loving your reviews and observations, and thanks for your reviews**

**ffapathy- Again like I said to Kristal Dynamite thank you for your reviews and observations on the last chapter can't wait to hear your thoughts on this one!**

**Transformer's g1's-prime- Thanks for your great review! **

**and finally Lockdown thank you for your words and you're right about Vince, from being the ally who wanted to help Clem to take down Carver with DIY and the guy who shot Steve and saved the group. To this... it reflects the theme of the story Going to Ruin, and Vince has gone to ruin completely.**

* * *

"What, lost for words?" Luke mused over at Vince, who was as frozen as the water beneath his feet. The Asian man gulped and tried to shakily raise his gun to eye level, keeping the southern man he despised with all of his heart in his sights.

"Aren't you going to shoot me Luke? The same way you shot Kelly?" He demanded of the man in front of him, Luke and Vince held each other's gaze neither of them daring to fire the tension in the air was slowly reaching a breaking point, however Vince needed to know! He needed to know that Luke was indeed a bad guy before he shot him! The group needed to know!

"Fucking lying again are we Vince? Kelly was lost to the herd, I didn't lay a finger on her" Luke growled.

"YOU FUCKING RAPED HER!" Vince screamed lost in his own delusions as Luke chuckled, to any observer it appeared that Luke was the insane one however Luke was laughing because this confirmed to him that Vince was indeed the insane one. He knew he had been set up, he knew he didn't "rape" Kelly at all, this lie would come crashing down in front of Vince's eyes and Luke knew it. That's why he was laughing and looking into Vince's eyes... it should have scared him. Vince could shoot at any second, yet Luke wanted to see Vince panic and suffer.

"You're still telling them that, you're insane Vince. I think you actually believe it yourself" Luke told the "leader" of the group. As a silence reigned over them as they openly glared at one another. From where he was watching on the sidelines Kenny couldn't take it any longer, without any warning the impulsive Floridian ran out onto the icy lake to Rebecca's shock and a dozen yells.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON VINCE!? WHY HAVEN'T YOU SHOT THIS FUCKER YET!" Kenny bellow, shooting daggers openly at Luke the bearded man raised his large gun to Luke's chest. However he merely smiled and muttered "Hey Kenny, who else is with you?" the question didn't gain an answer from a furious Kenny, who instead, bellowed "How the actual fuck did you get away from the walkers! Why the fuck aren't you dead!?"

Luke didn't respond directly to Kenny's question either, he simply smiled and titled his head to the side seemingly examining the furious man in front of him. Kenny's mouth opened again before someone else yelped and skidded out onto the frozen lake.

"What the hell is going on out here!?" Christa demanded of Vince and Kenny, as she too glared openly at Luke's calm form the gun Luke had in his hands was still trained on Vince. The Asian man seemed to be panicking now, as foggy vapour rose in puffy white clouds from in-between his lips at a much more rapid pace than was natural.

"Guys! Get off the lake, it can't take the weight! I'll finish up here and...!" Vince began as Luke cut him off with a bark of a laugh.

"No! Let them all come on Vince! Let them all hear the truth!" Luke roared like a madman before he titled his head into the sky and bellowed in a much louder tone "COME ON Y'ALL! WHOEVER'S WATCHING COME OUT HERE! I GOT LOADS TO TELL YOU ABOUT VINCE!" Vince stood rigid, this was it. Luke was going to tell them all the truth, he heard yells behind him. The others were actually stupid enough to come out onto the lake... Vince felt his fingers press down upon the trigger to his gun. He was going to...

His finger paused in it's tracks. Bony black fingers wrapped themselves around his gun, he trained his black eyes on Christa. The tall African american woman had grabbed the gun in his fingers, she knew he was about to shoot and felt a sudden urge to stop him.

"Christa let go of the gun" Vince calmly instructed of her, yet she stared back at him. The expression on her face was impossible to read and it made sweat roll down Vince's forehead, surely she didn't think (in any way) that Luke actually had something interesting to say? He tugged at his gun but Christa's grip on the thing was too tight as he looked at her again, yet she didn't say a word as the others hit the scene.

"DUDE I WILL FUCKING SHOOT YOU IN THE HEAD THIS TIME!" Wyatt roared, as he raised dual pistols to Luke's head, Luke didn't even flinch with unnerved Wyatt a little. Luke lowered the raised gun in his fingers (seeing as Vince was restrained) Eddie, Mike and Bonnie store silently on Luke acknowledged their presence with a nod which they didn't return as the redhead woman, the fire-fighter and the joker of the group remained speechless. Rebecca however (still carrying AJ) certainly let Luke know what was on her mind.

"I can't believe I could once call you a friend, after all we've been through Luke. You've... you raped and murdered a 15 year old girl and shot poor Vince!" It was a statement and not a question, facing the strict mother, Luke finally seemed to find his voice once again.

"That's what he told you. Isn't it. That's what you think" He said, as Kenny jabbed his gun near to Luke's face.

"Hey! Asshole were fucking as thick as two fucking planks! We saw you holding the gun! We saw you with your pants down! Vince was fucking shot! We know what the fuck we saw! What the fuck have you got to say for yourself!?" Kenny demanded of the younger man, as Luke gave his version of events in a simplistic honest tone.

"I was with Clem, we lost each other in the herd. I was fighting to get her. Then I bump into Vince he has Anne hostage and he tells me to rape her because he thinks I killed Kelly. I... I refused. Even when he pulled out Clementine's hat and told me she was with Nick and that if I did it, he would take me to them..."

"Why the actual hell would he ask you to rape a 15 year old?" Rebecca accusing tone told Luke she didn't believe him. Yet Luke ploughed on.

"The same reason he framed me raping Kelly, he heard you approaching Kenny, you were calling for Sarita. He knew that if I raped Anne I would look like the bad guy..."

"This is fucking nuts" Wyatt snarled, never the less Luke carried on as if he hadn't spoken.

"I refused. When I did Vince took desperate measures he shot Anne, by this point he already took her shirt off. and he made me lower my trousers at gunpoint, so it looked like..." he paused before continuing "anyway, he shot himself before he chucked the gun at my feet. You came onto the scene. And that's the truth of the matter" Luke concluded, to a very sceptical audience.

"Bull-shit. Absolute fucking bullshit" Wyatt said in summary of the group's feelings.

"You were the one to bulldoze into the herd, you put us all at risk! You're the one standing in the middle of a fucking icy lake that could break at any second! You're the one who lost their fucking marbles!" Mike said backing Wyatt up, as a sinister smile spread across Vince's face, he was winning this.

"You don't have any evidence Luke" he teased.

_"Actually, he kind of does"_

Many heads whipped around to the left at the sound of this new voice, as many eyes nestled themselves upon Stephanie's approaching form. The raven haired woman had silently glided across the icy lake it had seemed. She looked nervously below her but the lake seemed to support her weight, with this in mind she had continued forward. The main group's eyes were firmly fixated on Luke, so she only spoke when she was close to them drawing all attention to her.

"Stef!" Bonnie yelled in delight, glad to see another friend. Stephanie acknowledged this with a smile and muttered back "Is this everyone whose with you?" she asked, looking around at Kenny, Eddie, Bonnie, Mike, Christa, Wyatt, Rebecca, AJ and Vince. Other than the 9 of them no one else was present who wasn't previously missing to Stephanie. In response to her question Bonnie sadly shook her head.

"What did you mean? He has evidence?" Kenny asked suspiciously of Stephanie, as Stephanie got back to the point.

"I saw it all Kenny. I know it sounds crazy, but Luke is telling the truth! I saw it! I saw Vince shoot that girl! I heard everything! I watched from a nearby bush I approached after I escaped the herd I..."

"If you were watching this whole damn thing. Why didn't you come out! Why didn't you save the girl!?" Christa demanded of Stephanie, the younger woman's eyes fell to icy water below her, as she looked back at her own crestfallen reflection, before she managed an honest answer.

"Because I was scared. I... I didn't know what to do! I... I thought Vince might try to shoot me or... look. I know I sound crazy but I made mistakes, you saw me make a mistake. Were out here because I crashed the truck! I fucked up not helping the girl! I wanted to run! Run away! But after all I saw I couldn't, I had to help Luke out of there because..."

"So that's how you got out!" Kenny spat at Luke before turning back to Stephanie "You helped a fucking rapist, murderer to live!?" the appalled question was thrown at the raven haired woman in disgrace, who flinched but stood her ground in a way that would make an absent Lilly proud.

"Yeah. Think about it like that, why would I? Little miss fuck up I want to run away member of the group, actually go back and help Luke out? Because I saw what Vince did. It shocked me, it scared me. But... I had to do this, Vince has been telling you lies!" Stephanie pleaded to the group, praying they'd understand this, as Vince simply snarled "Look Stef you're young, you must have come across him in this state and he told you a pack of lies..."

"DON'T CALL ME YOUNG AND FUCKING STUPID! I FUCKED UP BUT I KNOW WHAT I SAW SO DON'T YOU DARE PATRONIZE VINCE YOU... YOU...!" Stephanie exploded words made everyone jump, as she trailed to a halt, she couldn't put her hatred to Vince into words. So, she simply spat at him, the blob of saliva landed on the reflective surface of the lake, right at Vince's feet.

There was a short silence.

"Gross" Eddie finally said, before Vince spoke up again.

"You know Stef? You're as crazy as him" Vince snarled at her, as Stephanie held his glare.

"Maybe..." Christa began before a distant scream cut her off, as she turned around, but it was too late the turquoise blob had already crashed into Kenny, sending him spiralling to the ground. The ice below him cracked slightly but Kenny didn't notice because somebody above him, someone who was repeating his name, "Kenny... Kenny... Kenny..." and he looked up to find Sarita beaming down at him. Her full face was a picture of happiness and Kenny (in those moments) forgot about his anger at Luke, or anything else. Other than that the woman he loved and his child had been returned to him.

"SARITA! OH THANK GOD!" He shouted to the heavens above before their lips met, and suddenly he was kissing her all over, both of them were laughing in glee, forgetting about everyone around them watching, forgetting that only a thin layer of ice separated them from water that could easily give them hypothermia. The other all managed to smile at the reunion and there was better to come.

"Guys!" Came a yell, as all faces turned to see the approaching trio of Sarah, Nick and Clementine. Stephanie felt her heart do a somersault when she saw Nick her smile and flush were all to obvious. Nick appeared to be looking at anyone and everything that wasn't Stephanie. But Stephanie knew he had seen her ,Sarah was beaming at everyone gleeful to see the rest of the group. While Clementine smiled in a similar manner.

"Clem! Sarah! Nick!" Rebecca yelled in glee, glad to see three old friends returned to her, Clementine thought everything (in those few seconds) would be all sunshine and rainbows. However that illusion faded the instant she saw Wyatt with his dual pistols locked on Luke's forehead.

"What's going on?" she asked cautiously, her tone cutting short the happiness of the reunion as the situation returned to that of the whole "Luke" matter.

"Clem, listen here Luke's done a load of bad stuff, he..." Wyatt began to explain as Nick shouted "What the actual fuck!?" and charged forward to help his friend however Mike's strong arm kept him at a safe distance.

"Let me go! What the fuck are you doing!?" Nick growled angrily, still in the dark Bonnie decided to explain the situation to Nick as everyone listened in. No one said a word as Sarita, Nick, Luke and Clementine were brought up to date with events. Luke noticed how Bonnie's narration of events betrayed no emotion, "... Luke he raped that girl. Anne. Raped her and shot her when Vince tried to talk her down and then Luke shot Vince and..." Bonnie was saying, as Kenny backed her up with "You have to believe us! We saw it!" as Nick looked at Luke in shock. Clementine's head was dizzy, she couldn't believe what she hearing.

Not because of what Luke had done.

Because of how low Vince had gone. She knew Vince had lied before and she knew this wasn't the truth this time around. When one side of the story was finished, Clementine looked up at Luke. For the first time since he had confronted his group Luke looked as uncomfortable and scared as he truly was, did Clementine believe the lies about him? That would crush him completely.

"Luke, what really happened?" she asked.

"Clementine!" Rebecca yelled, as Luke looked up and smiled at her.

"Thank you Clem, now let us tell our side of the story!" Stephanie yelled over to Rebecca, as she began her story. Vince had to bite down hard on his tongue to refrain himself from speaking, as Stephanie accused him of basic rape and murder. It wasn't like that at all, he felt a rage grow inside of him, that stupid bitch. Maybe if only Christa let go of his gun, he could shut both Stephanie and Luke up forever...

"... and that's why I went to go help Luke. I know what I saw! I know it you guys! We sent up the flare to draw you here! Luke, he wants justice. I want justice and we all deserve to know the truth" Stephanie spoke as Rebecca simply scowled "You wanted justice on the top of a frozen lake Luke?"

Luke looked at her curly haired mother.

"Yep, if my bullet misses than at least the ice might crack and Vince might drown" Luke told her simply, as Rebecca shuddered, it wasn't just because of the cold.

"Woah, everyone just calm down" Mike interjected starting to panic slightly, Luke gun was still in his hand but facing the floor, Vince's gun was still restrained by Christa.

"Stef" Nick suddenly called out, as Stephanie found herself locking eyes with the man that looked like her brother as she timidly answered "Yes?"

"You're not bullshitting me. Promise me everything you just said was the truth". Nick told her seriously as Stephanie nodded vigorously and told him clearly (while looking him dead in the eye) "Nick. I promise you. I'm telling the truth" as Nick seemingly nodded.

"I believe you then. I know Luke best here. No fucking way would he rape a 15 year old girl" Nick spoke as Luke smiled up at him.

"Thanks man" he muttered as Nick merely nodded.

"Dude, think with your head! I know Stef's got you wrapped around her little finger and Luke's your old friend but..."

"Don't-call-me-stupid-Vince. I can make up my own God damn mind, I'm not a baby" Nick growled at the Asian man, as Vince couldn't help but notice the similar responses from Nick and Stephanie. They were a match made in heaven, as stupid as each other and as immature as each other.

"You want crimes! Luke's a good guy, as for me. I, I should be the villain here. I killed Arvo" Nick stated, as many jaws hit the floor, as everyone suddenly seemed to become aware of the two absent members of the group. Lilly and Arvo. Upon hearing these words Christa's grip on Vince's gun tightened, as she felt her world spin out of her control. Nick had murdered her last remaining family, he had... she couldn't even bring herself to say it.

"You...you..." she gasped, but it wasn't Nick who replied.

"Nick got mad. He killed Arvo because Arvo ran away when those men came... and... and they raped me" her use of the word rape made even more jaws hit the floor, as people seemed unable to breathe at this point, as Wyatt muttered "Someone pinch me. Like fucking pinch me, right here. I'm not actually hearing this right?" as Rebecca gasped and tears slid down her face at this upsetting news. Sarah? How could anyone...?

"Why? Why would they do that to you?" Rebecca gasped to Sarah. The 16 year old's eyes were dry, as she spoke on.

"They, they did it because they found that Anne girl dead. They wanted revenge on our group, and because Anne died and they assumed she was raped, they did the same too me. It was Marisol and three other men, we found one of them later. He had hung himself, but because Anne died that was the reason they attacked me, it was the reason Arvo ran. It was the reason Nick got mad and tried to kill him..."

"It still doesn't justify my actions. I'm a murderer, so If anyone should have guns pointed to their heads, it's me" Nick told everyone solemnly, as Luke muttered "Nick" but he couldn't say anymore, Nick had killed a teenager, a kid. Luke didn't know how to feel.

"You should be god-damn ashamed of yourself! You sick, horrible... fuck..." Christa broke down in tears, unable to finish her sentence as Mike comforted her, however Sarita spoke up in Nick's defence.

"Look I'm not justifying what Nick did. But Arvo left her, he ran away while she got raped..." Sarita said, as Christa's eyes blazed at the Indian woman "So fucking what!? HE RAN BECAUSE THEY WOULD HAVE PROBABLY KILLED HIM! AND YOUR JUSTIFYING THAT PIECE OF SHIT'S ACTIONS! YOU'RE THE ONE THAT CALLED HIM A DISGUSTING HUMAN BEING BACK WHEN WE HAD THE TRUCK! HOW DARE YOU!? HOW DARE YOU DEFEND HIM! YOU STUPID WOMAN!" Christa screamed, as Sarita shook and Kenny bellowed back "HEY! DON'T SPEAK TO SARITA LIKE THAT!"

"I'll speak to her how I fucking want too" Christa replied back with all the sass in the world.

"Oh, don't go actin' all Mother Teresa on us Christa. Not after you and Mike went around fucking in the woods, cheatin' on me!" Bonnie screamed, adding her input to argument, as Clementine muttered "Oh God..." not wanting to hear more things that girl's her age shouldn't have been hearing.

"So what if I was with Mike! That's not comparable to murdering or rape!" Christa screamed, as Bonnie darkly muttered "I know it ain't, but plannin' to steal AJ and run off together with Mike in that herd. That was a low move Christa. I didn't know it then, but looking back now I've connected all the dots..." Bonnie revealed to all, Christa and Mike's silence on the matter confirmed their guilt, as Rebecca held AJ closer to her chest and Wyatt muttered "What the actual fuck is wrong with everyone today!? Anything else we should know about?" he asked the group at large, as Stephanie asked the question she had long wanted to ask Nick.

"Nick... where's Lilly?" the tone of dread in her voice alarmed many who didn't know of Lilly's demise. Nick looked back at Stephanie and shook his head sadly "She...she didn't make it. Shot by one of the guys in Marisol's group after pushing me away. They fled... but... it was too late. She bled out, I'm sorry Stef" Nick told her, as Stephanie felt silent, shocked tears roll down her face. Lilly can't have been dead. Lilly was... she was the strongest of them all! She... Stephanie was now truly shocked as was everyone else.

"Fuck..." Kenny muttered, feeling bile rise in his throat, he and Lilly never got on and that's what made it worse for him, he never even got to thank Lilly for saving his life back at the Hardware Store all those months ago. He treated her like shit and now she was gone... Kenny was suddenly aware of how low he had sunk when all Lilly had done was try and help the group.

"Jesus I can't take any-more of this" Rebecca whined, swaying on the spot slightly.

"I avenged Lilly. I killed the guy who shot her" Clementine stated clearly standing up beside Nick. She be dammed if she'd let Luke and Nick bear the brunt of all this guilt, when she was just a guilty a crime. This did it for Rebecca, she couldn't take anymore, she passed AJ over to a rigid Eddie and collapsed on her knees. Mumbling to herself "Oh sweet Jesus no. Oh sweet Jesus no"

"He tried apologising, but I didn't forgive him, I..." Clementine carried on, as Kenny muttered "Stop it Clem".

"I left Alex to die" Sarah suddenly spoke up, gaining more interest from the group, as she continued "He was injured, but he left us. So I left him. Like Clem said, I couldn't forgive him..." at these words Christa seemed to lose it, as she exploded at Nick "WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN TEACHING THEM!? YOU'RE CRAZY! YOU'RE FUCKING CRAZY! YOU'RE TEACHING THEM TO BE MURDERERS AND KILLERS! TEACHING THEM NOT TO FORGIVE OTHERS, WHEREAS IF YOU HADN'T BEEN FORGIVEN YOU WOULDN'T BE HERE...!" She ranted, as Nick store on silently.

"EVERYONE STOP IT! STOP IT NOW!" Luke bellowed in such a loud tone that the others all fell silent. Luke seemed to regain himself as he muttered "Clem, Nick, Sarah, stop it. I know what you're trying to do, and yeah some of it's pretty bad. But Vince" (all eyes turned back to Vince at this point) "You're a liar, what you did was downright evil. You didn't do it in anger, you did it to make me suffer and you enjoyed it, you're just like Carver" Luke spoke as Vince merely laughed and muttered "I did nothing wrong, and even if I did I'd do it in vengeance for what you did to Kelly".

Luke rolled his eyes and Clementine spoke up.

"Luke didn't touch Kelly Vince. You're a liar" she said, her voice as cold as the passing winter gales that stung at the exposed areas of the remaining group's skins.

"How would you know that Clementine?" Vince's asked, not looking at the 12 year old to his left, yet when Clementine spoke next, she spoke the truth.

"Because I was there when Kelly died Vince. I saw her get ripped apart by the herd, and in her dying words she told me that you framed Luke for rape. You lied Vince, you've been lying this whole time". Clementine accused him, as Vince's eyes' widened but he tried to cover this up with a "You didn't know what you saw Clem".

Clementine folded her arms over her chest and challenged the Asian man with a "So, you think I'm lying?" causing Vince to turn (in a growing rage) towards the black haired girl as he snarled "Yes! I think you are a fucking liar Clem! You're in league with Luke aren't you!? Aren't you!?" he repeated, demanding an answer from her, as she merely glared silently back at him.

"Clem told us too. I believe what Clem saw, so don't be mean to my friend" Sarah spoke up, as Vince glared openly at the pair of them.

"Shut up" he growled, once again he tried to tug his gun from Christa's grip, yet the tall woman held onto it tighter, she looked alarmed by the crazed look in Vince's eye, and in those moments she knew the truth as well. Forgetting her rage at Nick, the tall woman muttered "What Kelly wanted to tell us, just before the herd reached us. That was it wasn't it? You framed Luke" the conclusion was clear, as everyone remembered Kelly's begging of Vince to "Tell them!" but Vince responded with "Why don't you mind your own fucking business for once Christa?"

"Why aren't you answering the question?" Christa snapped.

Vince froze, in the growing silence, suspicions grew, as Bonnie cautiously called out "Vince?" as the Asian man felt all accusing eyes on him, he began to break, his breath was coming out too fast.

"Did Luke shoot her like you said. Vince? Did he?" Kenny asked of him, uncertainty was flickering on the bearded man's face As Sarita whispered into his ear "I don't believe him Kenny. I believe what Clem saw" Vince gulped as Wyatt looked torn, as the blonde man slowly dropped his gun from Luke's forehead.

"Dude? Did Luke shoot Kelly? Did you see it? Did he rape Anne?" Wyatt couldn't believe Vince had lied. There was no way he could lie about something like this.

"You saw Kelly as a walker didn't you? You assumed Luke killed her, didn't you?" Clementine asked of him, the growing questions were weighing on Vince's shoulders, he was breaking, he had about to snap as he growled his reply "Luke did kill her. The second he charged into that herd. It was such a fucking reckless plan" he muttered, as Rebecca's eyes widened and Mike gasped in shock as the truth dawned on both of them.

"So. You're saying she died in the herd then and that Luke didn't shoot her?" Christa accused him of, as Vince spat "No! Luke killed her the second we went into the herd!"

"No the walkers did! You... You lied to us Vince!" Kenny roared, as Sarita had to restrain him from moving forwards to punch Vince, Vince saw the look of rage etched onto Kenny's face, it truly was over. As Vince titled his head back and roared into the sky...

"FUCK IT! YOU KNOW FUCKING WHAT I DID CAPTURE ANNE! I FUCKING FRAMED LUKE FOR RAPE IN THE FIRST PLACE! I FUCKING CAUGHT ANNE AND TEMPTED LUKE TO RAPE HER! EVEN WHEN I PULLED OUT CLEM'S CAP THE IDIOT WOULDN'T AGREE TO IT! SO YEAH I SHOT MYSELF AND THAT FREAKY EYED BITCH TO FRAME HIM! IT WAS ALL ME! WANNA KNOW WHY! BECAUSE LUKE'S FUCKING NUTS AND YOU NEEDED TO SEE THAT! HIS A FUCKING SHIT LEADER, HE MADE US STAY AT THE HARDWARE STORE AND NOW THE CULT ARE CLOSE ON OUR ASSES! HE CHARGED INTO THAT HERD AND KILLED MY GIRLFRIEND AND GOT US SEPARATED! LUKE'S A SHIT LEADER! WE ALL FUCKING KNOW IT! I DID WHAT I DID TO GET RID OF HIM, TO ENSURE THE GROUP WAS SAFE! IF YOU FOLLOW LUKE HE'LL GET YOU ALL KILLED!"

A ringing silence rang out after this words. There was nothing to be said, but finally Luke titled his head back and announced to all "And that Ladies and gentlemen is the truth. That's what I wanted you all to hear".

Christa couldn't speak she was disgusted, she was horrified at the man she thought was their capable leader. She swiped his gun from his limp fingers as he fell to the floor, the ice cracking slightly under his weight.

"Are you going to follow that turd then? Are you going to kill me?" he questioned of the group who looked down at the Asian man in disgust, tears rolled down Vince's cheeks as he watched his worst nightmare come to life. They had discovered his secret, Luke was walking back into the group no one was pointing guns at him anymore, no one knew what to say to Luke, now knowing he was innocent.

"Luke I..." Kenny began at last.

"It's fine. Let's get the hell out of here" Luke told him, as the group all looked back at a wailing Vince who pounded the ice beneath him, with his fists as he wailed and sobbed. Looking pathetic and pitiful.

"Luke, you wanted revenge now's your chance" Stephanie told him, as the group looked at the young southern man. Luke looked tempted as Vince looked up through watery black globes and croaked in a sinister tone "Come on baby! What's a matter, lost your habit of ripping people to shreds?" he taunted Luke with, Luke merely remained poker-faced as Vince continued to goad him, the group stood beside Luke looking back and forth at Luke back to Vince.

"COME ON! FUCKING RUIN ME! FUCKING MAKE ME A BLOODSTAIN ON THE ICE! MAKE ME THE WORST I CAN BE!" Vince spat at him in pure insanity.

Luke looked back at him, before speaking again.

"You are already the worst you can be. Don't you get it? I thought I wanted to kill you Vince, but I just discovered I'm a much worse person than simply giving you a quick death with a single bullet. It's over Vince, you're dreams of leading the group are over, you are a fucking monster and I'm going to leave you here to rot. So with the best wishes from me and all of us. .Hell" Luke concluded his sentence and turned away from Vince, as him and the group began to walk away.

"COME BACK YOU FUCKING COWARD! FINISH ME OFF!" Vince bellowed, Luke didn't turn around, but Vince's oldest friends Wyatt and Bonnie did, Bonnie could only stare in numb shock at what Vince had become while Wyatt approached Vince, the blonde man stood over Vince for a few moments, deeply hurt beyond any words at Vince's betrayals and lies. So his fist did the talking, a single punch sent Vince sprawling backwards onto the ice.

"VINCE WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO YOU!? WHY THE FUCK!?" Wyatt screamed at him, his eyes looked glassy but in those moments Vince didn't care. Wyatt thought of him as shit now. There was absolutely nothing left to lose.

But he could make everyone else lose something. It was over for him. What not everyone else.

So, like that Vince truly snapped completely. He no longer thought, he was beyond that, he was demented, beyond human empathy and compassion he had gone completely to ruin, as he sprang to his feet and whacked a surprised Wyatt across the face with a well aimed punch that sent the chubby man sprawling to icy floor.

The ice cracked further.

Vince wasn't finished, before Wyatt could comprehend what had happened Vince had swiped Wyatt's dual pistols from his fingers and aimed them down at the blonde man, who was trying to reach for his glasses, Wyatt looked up in those last few moments and began to beg "NO..." as Eddie turned around and bellowed "VINCE NO...!"

BANG

BANG

BANG

Three gunshots was all it took and Wyatt lay dead, three holes in his head, as Eddie sank to his knees in disbelief, (he was still holding AJ) who had began to cry the rest of the group were speechless, they turned to see Wyatt dead, and the bullets that had travelled through his head had penetrated through the ice sheet over the lake as the cracks spread like wildfire.

"EVERYONE GET OFF THE LAKE!" Luke roared, as Vince smiled. Some of the group ran and some remained frozen in place as Vince fired a few more shots, not at people but he had a better aim. To shoot at the Lake itself so the bullets made the ice crack and break faster, before anyone knew how it had happened the whole lake was stained with cracks.

"I SaVEd oNe bUlLeT fOr yOU lUkE!" Vince bellowed, raising his remaining pistol to Luke's head as he charged towards Luke to ensure that he wouldn't miss, that Luke would die indeed. But at the last second Clementine remembered her promise she had made to herself, she couldn't save Lee, she couldn't save Omid she had gotten them killed. She wasn't adding Luke to that list.

That was her goal. To protect Luke, that was one of the main reasons of her second chance, to keep him alive.

So in the madness she screamed "LUKE MOVE!" and using all of her force she managed to push Luke out of harm's way as he fell to the side.

BANG

She was too short, the bullet whizzed over her head yet Vince fell on top of her.

Just as the ice covering the lake splintered into a thousand tiny pieces and the weight of everyone on it could no longer be held. As every group member was plunged into the icy depths.

For Clementine, it was worse not only could she not breathe, but Vince had his arms wrapped around her waist. He was far too heavy for her to fight against him, Vince was slowly sinking and taking Clementine down with, as Clementine looked up at the wavy sky above her... her legs stopped kicking against Vince as her vision slowly got darker.

Vince's last goal. Taking away the one thing that meant the most to Luke.

His Clementine.


	30. In The Water

**A/N: Great response for last chapter and WOOT WOOT! 400 REVIEWS, thank you everyone! and after recently completing the fifth night at Freddy's by the skin of my teeth I can say I'm in a damn good mood! So without further ado I'll get onto answering reviews...**

**Thetypewriterv- Yay! Always glad to see a new reviewer and I'm glad you made the connection with Vince and Jane. As many want him to simply die or state they hate him, which is understandable but I'm glad you managed to relate to him as I didn't want him turning into a villain without a very good motive.**

**emilyrose272- In the reviews I always look for a reviewer that enjoys or finds a certain part of the chapter more memorable, heartbreaking etc than the rest of the chapter and I'm happy you noticed what Nick, Clem and Sarah were saying and how (even the most popular and well liked characters) have done horrible things and are slowly going to ruin.**

**CaTzRuLe- Thank you! The fact that this has become your favourite fic ever means a lot to me as barely expecting any reviews when I started writing and I just did it for fun and to try and make (what I thought) was a better story for Season 2 from Episode 3 onwards, but my stories have grown and I'm surprised (but very thankful) for all the great feedback. So yeah... (and don't worry I've finally updated!) **

**ffapathy- Liked how you mourned Wyatt, He was originally meant to die on the lake, then in the middle of the story I changed my mind and had it planned that he'd live. Only writing this chapter did I change my mind once again. About your criticism I suppose they should have killed Vince and I imagine Luke will get grief for this afterwards (if he and the others survive that is) so it goes to show, shoot him people think you're a killing machine. Spare him and the consequences will be fatal and you'll get blamed. There's no right or wrong... anyway I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter! **

**Chameishida and Kristal Dynmaite- Thanks to the pair of you for your great reviews and your reviews always make smile and motivate me to write even more. **

**Rebloxic- Not too much Wyatt love then (the effect of the popularity poll has struck) either way thanks for your review and if the last two chapters made you scream and cry I'm curious to see your reaction to this one.**

**Lockdown- Thanks! You're right at least Carver had a tiny bit of humanity in him (wanting to care for AJ) whereas Vince has just become a mass murderer. **

**Transformer's g1's-prime- Quite simply thanks for your review and being the 400th reviewer! **

**Mostly TDWG- Yep, His Clementine... I may be good with words, but personally I reckon I'm just evil.**

**Sailent Spring- Your prayer for the characters made me laugh, the fruity one and the one that tore his hair were probably my favourites, may the ice gods lead them to safety! **

**and thank you to everyone else who reviewed, sorry I couldn't get around to you all but this author's note is long enough as it is, and quite simply it's time to get on with the chapter.**

* * *

"CLEM...!"

Luke's head disspeared under the icy currents, his words cut short and replaced with the soft popping of bubbles on the choppy surface of the water, from next to him Eddie had fallen into the blue water with a giant SPLASH! Rising to the surface spluttering, he used his one strong hand to keep himself afloat and the other to keep a tight grip on the soaked bundles next to him. AJ. Aj was shrieking and wailing and coughing out water that had entered his lungs.

It suddenly seemed to hit Eddie. How cold the damn water really was.

"Fuck! Hang in there little guy!" Eddie gasped, as he felt his whole body go numb, his hands turned as blue as the water itself in a mere few seconds. If he was already freezing up than what about AJ? He wasn't even a year old, only a few seconds in that water would be the death of him. Panicked for his own life and the infant's Eddie tore his way through the water as quickly as he could, he eyes trained on a nearby white bank.

"Snow... land..." he thought in a jumble, the cold (for those few adrenaline fuelled moments) propelling him to swim faster rather than freeze on the spot.

. Goosebumps spread all over the bearded man's skin, the tingling and stinging pains spreading up his torso he guessed (rightly) weren't a good a sign. He swam at a slow pace than he could have done, as he held his other hand in the air, henceforth little AJ could avoid being dunked in more water.

But the damage was done, AJ was soaked and screaming.

Eddie felt a few of his bags and loose coat slid off him as he swam on. The weight of his clothes were weighing him down, even with only his t-shirt on now, his heavy trousers were slowly stopping him. Even if he did reach the store he had no warm layers on, his gun was long since gone, his supplies were slipping off and sinking to the bottom of the lake...

And suddenly Eddie was at the shore. Someone had pushed (with a great amount of force) towards the bank, using his soaking hand Eddie managed to tug his heavy form to the shore. His fingers digging into inches of crusty snow, but he was so numb and cold anyhow this barely made any difference. The usual beanie Eddie had on his head was now also gone and was sinking into the depths, leaving his ears stinging as lethal beads of blue water rolled from his soaking, short ,black spikes of hair.

"Man! You gotta take of your clothes!" A voice yelled from below him. The force that pushed him and AJ to safety.

Mike.

"Dude! Are you fucking nuts! Do you want me to freeze to death faster!" Eddie yelled back, an unusual aggression in his voice. As he clenched his teeth tight and shook violently, gazing at the melting chunks of snow inches in front of his big brown eyes. Not looking back at Mike, who responded to him in a patient tone.

"IF YOU KEEP WET CLOTHES ON YOU'LL DIE OF HYPOTHERMIA! YOU GOTTA TAKE THEM OFF OR ELSE!"

It was then Eddie noticed something, AJ wasn't crying or wailing anymore the child had gone deathly quiet. This (more than Mike's statement) is what propelled Eddie to take action, he needed to stay warm to protect AJ. If he wasn't warm than how the hell was AJ meant to get warm? AJ would die and it would be his fault. His fault once again, Rebecca had trusted him to look after her child and he vowed that he would.

Springing to life once again Eddie peeled off his black t-shirt leaving him topless and half of his body exposed to the elements. Throwing his sagging black ball of a t-shirt to the side he used his drying hands to wipe down his body of any water that has soaked through his clothes. So although he was freezing he no longer hand any wet layers on. (Well he did have his soaking trousers on still, but Eddie was more concerned with keeping AJ warm first) AJ remained still in his bundles as Eddie scooped him up.

"Come on little guy" Eddie begged to himself as he removed AJ's soaking blankets from his form. Leaving the child naked, but it didn't make any difference AJ has turned completely blue, as beads of water fell of his form. and his tiny limbs didn't move, he wasn't breathing.

"Oh fuck... fuck, fuck" Eddie gasped aloud using his bare arms to wipe the soaking child down, when AJ was dry Eddie frantically pushed two small fingers on AJ's chest and pushed down. He wasn't the best at CPR but all of the group had been taught the basics back at Howe's Hardware and Wyatt...

Clearing his thoughts Eddie pried open the infant's mouth and blew fresh oxygen into AJ's lungs, there was no response, frantically he pressed down on AJ's tiny chest again and once again blew oxygen into the infant's lungs, Eddie was aware of his grip of reality was slowly sliding away, as he helplessly tried to get AJ breathing again. He had a horrible feeling he was too rough with the child, that he had crushed AJ's lungs or ribs and...

To his surprise AJ coughed up some clear looking water and instantly started to wail once again, his flailing limbs instantly clasped themselves around Eddie's bare chest. Eddie could only hope that whatever body warmth he had left in him, would warm up the wailing infant. Shielding AJ from the harsh winter winds that made the bearded man shiver, Eddie slowly turned back towards the lake.

"You okay? Is AJ alright?" Mike panted, his head barely bobbing above the surface.

"His alright for now" Eddie responded through chattering teeth, as he looked out onto the lake, he could see a few distant forms still splashing around, but from this distance he couldn't identify who they were. He hoped one of them was Rebecca, that the mother was still struggling and not sinking to her watery grave. The lake seemed so small when frozen, but now that the ice had cracked, it suddenly seemed to expand a mile.

"I'm gonna go help the others, keep AJ warm!" Mike commanded of Eddie, who was about to shout "DUDE! GET THE FUCK OUT THE WATER YOURSELF YOU WON'T GET TO THEM, THEIR TOO FAR AWAY!" but he never got to shout that, because Mike was already cutting through the freezing water like a bullet. Tearing away from Eddie and towards the sinking others, Eddie could only stare he wasn't keen on getting into the water again.

Watching Mike vanish into the choppy currents Eddie knew he should have looked for shelter, it was an old boy's scouting camp, there should have been buildings dotted around this wood other than the one Stephanie had come from. He (and especially AJ) needed shelter. But right now the humorous man simply couldn't move, he simply stared out onto the lake as the first tears fell from his eyes.

Wyatt.

His best friend since childhood, gone. Just like that, the amount of times they'd escaped certain death and joked about it and all it took was Vince to simply knock him down and... that was it. Eddie was still reeling from events, Vince had... lied to them all. He didn't know what too feel, he didn't know who was dead or who was alive in that chaos. He couldn't see anyone approaching the shore he was on, Eddie shook and pulled AJ closer to his bare chest.

"Could be just us now dude" Eddie croaked to the infant, before Eddie dissolved into a round of tears and wails as loud as Alvin's, as he mourned his best friend. The grief finally crashing over him, as one solid fact ran through his mind. Wyatt was dead. He was never going to see Wyatt again.

He didn't even get to say goodbye.

* * *

Clementine's vision blackened, it was over, she had gotten herself killed but at least Luke was safe. At least...

Suddenly Vince's arm loosened slightly from where they were wrapped around her neck, weakly raising her hands a strong arm wrapped itself around her waist, even with the hum of the water in her ears and her blackening vision she could instantly tell who was trying to pull her up.

Luke.

"Don't come back for me you idiot!" she wanted to scream at him, as she felt him crash directly into Vince, freeing herself from Vince's iron grip, she swam to the left, narrowly avoiding an arm that tried to snatch at her. Clementine felt her fatigued legs give away, as she saw Luke violently shove Vince towards the left, the Asian man floated slowly through the water, as he glared directly at Luke. Before he propelled himself at Luke once again, a fire in his eyes.

Punches and kicks have much less effect underwater. Both Luke and Vince knew this, but it didn't stop a crazed Vince from trying to land a punch near to Luke's face anyway. However this mad move of angered motivation was the death of him, as Luke easily caught Vince's slow fist and managed to tug on his curled arm, sending Vince spiralling in circles as he struggled to find out where Luke had gotten too.

Luke was already swimming to where Clementine was, the 12 year old had been trying (with little success) to reach the surface of the water, but her legs were too heavy, her lungs felt like they were about to burst. She began to panic, unable to hold her breath any longer as water flooded into her lungs...

An uplifting sensation told Clementine that Luke was pushing her towards the surface, but she was already on her way to passing out. Drowning, it was damn painful.

Suddenly Luke stopped, as if jammed in place. Clementine looked down slowly and saw Vince's enraged face below her trying to drag Luke down with him, as he gripped onto Luke's ankle.

But Clementine knew too well, that Luke would never be dragged down to Vince's level.

And with a final kick, Vince's hands were pried from Luke's ankle as Luke shot upwards desperate to reach the surface, the last thing Clementine saw was Vince's face sinking slowly into the blackening depths of the lake. His face haunted her because it was the face of a man completely ruined by the world, his eyes were wide open, his mouth was stuck open like that of a fish. Despite all the evil he had done, in those final moments Vince look terrfied.

And then the world went black for Clementine too.

* * *

Vince sank into the blackness...

_"You hold your every breath, life is for the living, in the water"_

The silhouettes of Luke and Clementine were gone, he looked up but there was nothing but blackness above him. His arms were too weak to lift himself as the pressure of the water grew heavier on his shoulders.

_"You feel that should run, but where are you to hide? In the water"_

Death terrified Vince, in those last moments he didn't care about Luke or Clementine or any of his previous murderous rage that had engulfed him. Guilt, shame, pride it was all gone. Every human emotion was wiped from his head as water began to fill his lungs.

_"Against the tide we struggle, the skin were in, the skin were in"_

He just wanted to survive. He just wanted to live as he tried (with every fibre of his being) to swim upwards. But the hum of the water grew greater in his ears , his vision grew blacker.

_The harder he wanted to live, the faster he sank._

_Against the tide we struggle, the skin were in, the skin were in"_

And suddenly there they were. Four figures appeared above him, Wyatt, Shel, Kelly and Russell. He smiled to himself they would help him. They were his friends, he led three of them, he was a good leader, they all knew it.

_"to keep our heads above the deep- and our hearts above the lie"_

"Help me" Vince asked of them, but only bubbles churned out of his mouth

"You vow your life and blood but this is not our home, in the water"  
Shel shot him a disgusted look before she vanished into thin air. The lover he never had, the regrets he had made. They were gone.

_"our hope here's never found"_

He turned to Wyatt, the chubby man shook his head before he too vanished, the friends he had, the loyalty he had in life. They were gone.

He shot a desperate glance at Kelly, the woman he loved, she simply store down at him coldly before she vanished. The compassion he once had, the love he once had. They were gone.

And finally he looked at the final form of Russell, Russell's angry expression said it all before he too vanished, as Vince's heart truly sank as the truth dawned on him. The man he once was, symbolised by Russell's saying.

_**"You're a good leader"**_

He was now gone.

_"Who we are today, could never make amends for what we've done"_

Vince was dead.

* * *

"SARAH!"

Nick had screamed this at the surface of the lake, Stephanie had to drag him out of the thing from where she found him splashing around, struggling to keep afloat but also looking for Sarah as well. She wanted to make a very inappropriate joke about men being able to multi-task, but seeing Nick's face and considering everything that had just gone down...

Yeah, she thought she'd keep her mouth shut.

Right now it took every inch of remaining strength she had to hold back Nick from jumping into the water once again.

"LET GO OF ME STEF!" He roared, Nick was beyond furious and anxious, every single frayed nerve in his brain had simply exploded as he eyes frantically searched past the layers of floating ice for the bespectacled girl he had grown so close too. Stephanie holding him back only made him more furious as he needed to move! He needed to do something! He couldn't just stand here and fucking wait! Someone would die! Sarah would die!

"GET THE FUCK OFF ME!" Nick roared, in his paranoia he aimed a well aimed punch at Stephanie, she barely managed to dodge the thing, trying another option, Nick tried to duck underneath her arms and crawl towards the lake. But she fell on his back and tried her best to pin the trigger happy man from doing something too reckless.

"LET ME GO STEF! LUKE'S IN THERE! CLEM! SARAH FUCKING EVERYONE, YOU'RE JUST GOING TO SIT BY AND LET THEM DIE!?" Nick bellowed at her, as Stephanie finally decided to speak up (well, scream up).

"YOU CAN'T GO BACK IN THERE NICK! YOU'LL DIE OF HYPOTHERMIA! I WON'T LET YOU DO THAT!" She screamed her voice raw and cracked, as she coughed and wheezed out the stinging water from her mouth and snorted it out of her nose.

"I DON'T CARE STEF! I NEED TO HELP!" Nick roared back.

"YOU'LL DIE NICK!"

"I DON'T GIVE TWO SHITS STEF! I NEVER HAVE! JUST RUN OFF AND ABANDON US LIKE YOU ALWAYS DREAMED OFF! GO ON! RUN NOW! JUST FUCKING RUN OFF! YOU'LL DODGE A FUCKING BULLET GETTING AWAY FROM ME!" Nick exploded, ranting on for far too long causing Stephanie to suddenly gasp, not only in hurt but in shock about what Nick had just said.

"I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE YOU!" She roared back and suddenly it was silent again. The rage boiling in both young adults dying out as quickly as it flared up, although pinning down Nick from the back. He still managed to crank his neck to the left, so he turned to face her. No doubt he noticed how she clearly emphasised the "You" and Nick knew instantly she wasn't speaking about the group in general. But him.

They were panting as they held each other's gaze, they didn't say a word. In those moments Nick didn't know what to do but it suddenly went from screaming to this? He felt his heart start to beat faster, a form of warmth spreading it's way into his numb being...

And with a sudden crash the moment was lost, someone made a loud gasp and somebody was rolled onto the bank. Nick and Stephanie broke off eye contact and turned to face the new problem. Mike looked up at them from where he was still in the water, he had rolled to them...

"SARAH!" Nick roared wiping her wet clothes down instantly as the teenager shivered and hugged herself, she was shaking violently. Nick could see she had lost her glasses in the sub-zero temperature water, but what mattered was that she was alive. Sarah was so shaken that she couldn't utter a single word back, she could only continue to shiver and hug herself as Nick picked up the skinny teen.

"SHE WENT UNDER! I GRABBED HER JUST IN TIME! MAKE SURE SHE STAYS WARM!" Mike bellowed up to them, as Nick saw him go off after a sinking Rebecca. For now he managed to rise to his shaky feet with Stephanie beside him and Sarah in his arms, as the trio of them bundled together to try and conserve body heat. A distant yell met Nick ears in those moments, Stephanie constantly checked on Sarah, who lay limply in Nick's arms.

"She's gone into shock Nick,we need to find a damn shelter soon!" Was her verdict on a silent Sarah. As Nick pulled her closer, this time he heard the distant yell again. It was Kenny and he was calling for assistance on something.

"Kenny! We have to go help!" Stephanie told Nick, as the pair bolted off in the general direction of Kenny's deep grumble of a voice. It took them sooner than expected to find him crouched over a violently shaking Sarita who held her bump with both arms as she muttered urgently to Kenny.

"...sorry, I couldn't! I know how'd you react the group do not need this. Not now..." she breathed again before continuing "do you think... that lake. My body will it affect the baby? If I go onto shock or..."

"Sarita it will be fine! I promise you we just need some more and a nice warm shelter and we'll be fine for when the baby comes in a few..."

He paused there suddenly noticing Nick's presence behind him as he whipped around.

"Hey! Were you listenin'!" he growled at the trio of them, Nick answered for his little group as he simply muttered "No" which was a very clear lie, however before she could enquire further a frantic Bonnie, followed by Christa burst onto the scene.

"What is it!?" Christa almost screamed in panic, as Kenny directed her towards Sarita who lay on the ground and told her "It's the baby! I can't get her up there's something wrong, her body's gone into shock or something! I need help carryin' her!" To Nick that made a good cover-up and it was true to a great extent, Sarita did need a shelter and she needed it fast.

But he always wore long sleeves, wasn't it obvious? Now he could see more clearly, Clementine always wore her cap because it meant something to her, He wore long sleeves, Luke had his locket from Jane, and Sarita? Clothing could tell you a lot about a person.

Sairta's bump had seemingly doubled in size, Sarita had always worn many layers of coats and thick t-shirts. Nick should have picked up on this earlier, since he was with Sarita the most in the past few days he noticed the change instantly. The others were all still panicking and not thinking straight, but with Stephanie by his side and Sarah in his arms, Nick's mind was suddenly fairly relaxed.

"HELP!" Came another yell, an exhausted pant from near to the lake, Bonnie ran over to assist instantly each of them trying to keep pro-active, whether it was walking, running, helping Sarita to her feet or whatever, they needed to move. Stephanie caught a glimpse of an exhausted Mike dragging a sobbing Rebecca to the shore, she looked at Mike and suddenly she felt her numb hand tug on Nick's long sleeve.

"What?" he asked of her.

"Nick, we have to go" she said urgently, she noticed how Christa glared openly at Nick. Nick had expected it, (considering her rant to him on the lake) but Stephanie knew what was coming. They had to leave, now.

"What? Stef, look were in a shitty position here but..." Nick began, before Stephanie urgently whispered to him this time "No, Nick we have to leave now".

Nick didn't move, not knowing where this sudden panic had flared in Stephanie, but her voice was contagious. Her eyes kept flickering back and forth from Nick to Christa, the tall black woman seemed to notice this unease but kept busy tending to Sarita to let it bother her.

Elsewhere Bonnie managed to drag Rebecca to shore as the mother simply collapsed to the snowy ground.

"I LEFT HIM WITH EDDIE! HIS DROWNED! HIS DROWNED! ALVIN'S DEAD, HIS DEAD! HIS DEAD HE CAN'T SURVIVE A SECOND IN THAT LAKE! MY SON IS DEAD, MY BABY BOY...!" Rebecca screamed into Bonnie's coat, as the redhead comforted her. Rebecca was an absolute wreck, not caring for herself as she openly wailed to Bonnie, as the woman pulled her closer trying to use some of Rebecca's body heat to warm her skinny self up. As Rebecca cried into her shoulder she saw a soaked Mike drag himself to the bank.

"Thank you Mike, you saved her" she told him, as the former fireman smiled at her. Before he simply collapsed where he was. Laid on his back gazing at the sky, Bonnie decided to give him a few minutes to regain his breath as she held onto Rebecca for a little longer. But she should have known then that something was off.

Eventually Bonnie pried herself gently from Rebecca's grip as she went to go check on Mike, Rebecca simply gazed at the snowy undergrowth, lost for words as more tears fell from her eyes. Bonnie was worried about her, sitting on the ground looking as if she has given up on life, losing a son must have been devastating for her, the poor woman...

"Hey Mike I'm worried about Rebecca, can you help me carry her back to the others?" Bonnie asked of him.

Mike didn't reply to Bonnie's question, after a few seconds of silence she asked again "Mike?" again he didn't reply. A feeling of dread rose in Bonnie's gut as she slowly approached him. His brown eyes were still locked on the sky above him, so why wasn't he responding? What was the problem?

"Mike?"

Standing over him now, he still didn't reply, it was then Bonnie noticed that he didn't blink. His eyes were wide open, his chest wasn't moving. A thin layer of ice had spread all over his clothes and skin, he looked as if he had been cocooned in layer of white and when Bonnie noticed these signs she gasped and dropped to her knees next to the African american man.

"MIKE!" She shouted more urgently, she tried to rub him down, she tried to warm him up in any way possible, but nothing worked. She worked on frantically as she applied CPR, (having trouble prying Mike's dark blue and cracked lips apart) but after 10 compressions nothing seemed to be changing he wasn't getting warmer, he didn't cough and breathe.

"NO, MIKE! MIKE PLEASE NO!" Bonnie begged of him.

He had smiled at her barely 5 minutes ago! How!? She had heard and seen many shocking things that day but this? No, this was not happening. This simply was not happening. Mike couldn't die, not like this. Not so suddenly and so silently. Bonnie didn't even get to say goodbye, the only thing she had told him was thank you and...

"NO YOUR NOT DEAD! BREATHE MIKE!" She screamed trying CPR further.

"HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!" She begged of the nearby trees, as Christa's form came crashing through them. Hearing the urgency in Bonnie's voice she gazed down at Mike's form and instantly shoved the redhead woman from his frozen corpse as Bonnie stumbled backwards. Next to Rebecca who silently gazed on at the turn of events.

"NO! OH MY GOD! HIS FROZEN! SOMEBODY GET A BLANKET OR... FUCK! SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING!" Christa screamed, as Kenny came crashing through the trees, Sarita leaning heavily on his shoulder, as Christa gazed at them all one by one tears streaming from her eyes.

She let out an inhuman scream, causing many to grimace uncomfortably, the scream must have lasted for ten agonizing seconds before Christa buried her face in Mike's frozen chest, weeping openly and stroking his frozen face.

"He... he must have spent to long in the lake and died of hypothermia" Sarita stated sadly, as the truth hit Bonnie. Mike was dead, another man she had been with was dead. He may not have loved her any-more but she was (in some ways) still in love with him. This loss... it caused her to weep into the earth as she tried to wipe her eyes. Mike, Mike was taking action and trying to save the group, but he was too damn selfless, he spent far too long in the lake trying to save the others and not thinking once about himself. It was true, selfless people didn't make it in this world.

Mike could handle the fire's he used to extinguish, but not the water.

"What happened here?" Nick asked, emerging on the scene, as Stephanie nervously tugged at his sleeve once again. Ignoring her his eyes flew around each individual person, and it was with this that Christa snapped.

Stephanie knew she would, the second she saw Mike that blue, she knew he wasn't going to make it. She knew in some way that Christa would snap and blame Nick for this. The way Christa spat things at Nick... there wasn't going to be any forgiveness, Christa was going to go over the edge and kill him.

Thinking of Lilly, you had to think of the worst.

And her prediction came true, Christa screamed at Nick "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! YOU AND YOUR FUCKING RECKLESSNESS! YOUR FUCKING FRIEND LUKE GOING OUT ONTO THAT LAKE! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!" She screamed aiming her gun directly at Nick, before Nick could move she had already pulled the trigger. But luckily for Nick it clicked uselessly, her gun was soaked and ineffective.

"Fuck" she growled, reaching for another gun in her belt.

"RUN!" Stephanie roared at Nick, finally getting the message the man bolted into the trees. Who cares if he hadn't been shot, Christa had aimed that gun with the intention to kill and had pulled the trigger. She had lost the last thing keeping her stable that was Mike and now she was on rampage. She pulled the gun she managed to keep dry from her belt and fired a shaky shot at Nick's back that missed by mile. Him and Stephanie had already ran off into the trees, not looking back. Christa had lost everything she had.

Nick looked at Sarah in his arms and Stephanie to his right. He was not going to lose them in the way Christa had lost her loved one's. So the trio ventured further into the forest, looking for any form of shelter.

Behind them, the group store in shocked silence at Christa. Kenny had the courage to mutter "Christa what the fuck?" before she dropped her gun to the ground, she sniffed before she bolted off into the treeline herself, wailing loudly.

"Fuck" Kenny muttered, as Rebecca managed to get to her feet.

"We gotta move, we gotta try and find them" Rebecca muttered, yet a little weakly as Kenny shot her down with "What? After what Christa just did! She's lost it Rebecca! I don't want her around my kid! And I doubt we'll find Nick, Sarah and Stef again! We're on our own now! It's been a tough day but we gotta keep going, for those we've lost!" as a last little afterthought to motivate his sullen group.

And so they moved, Rebecca and Bonnie trailed behind Kenny and Sarita. Kenny and Sarita led the way onwards, but they still had something to live for, they had a motivation to find shelter. Rebecca and Bonnie did not, the two woman leaned on each other and kept silent, sniffing occasionally, Bonnie reflecting on all she had lost Vince, Wyatt, Mike all in one day. Friends, lovers... and maybe more as well. Although neither her nor Rebecca had snapped like Christa had, (and Bonnie kept her eyes nervously peeled on the treeline, to see if they could find the woman without her hand, or the trio of Nick, Sarah and Stephanie).

They were so cold and so in need of moving and finding shelter they had no time to bury Mike. This upset Bonnie even more.

Because after today... she seriously doubted she wanted to be dragged through any more of this.

* * *

Clementine gasped and shot up, aware of someone pushing down hard on her chest, she felt a torrent of water forced from her mouth as she coughed and spluttered. Looking above her, she saw the forms of Luke, Eddie and AJ swimming in her vision.

"Where are the others?" she managed to croak out as Luke shook his head sadly.

"We don't know Clem" He told her sadly as she groaned and held her dizzy head, the group had been separated once again, Vince and Wyatt were dead, she knew that much and God knows who else. She realised that she was inside a building, Luke had managed to drag himself and Clementine to the bank and instantly rushed himself and Clementine to the building he and Stephanie had previously resided in. Eddie had seen them and followed them into the building, just as Luke started hammering on Clementine's chest to get her breathing again.

"You okay?" Eddie asked, as Clementine nodded, she was surprised to see AJ had made it out of the icy lake unharmed, but it was a miracle she was willing to accept with open arms.

"You scared me kid, I thought I'd lost you, fucking Vince..." he cursed as Clementine shut him up, by hugging him. His body heat warmed her still freezing self.

"You didn't have to come back for me" she mumbled into his new maroon coat. He simply smiled and pulled her closer.

"Of course I'd come back for you Clem" he muttered as if it were obvious.

For now, they were safe.


	31. Fancy seeing you here

**A/N: Okay now this story is the fourth most reviewed on the site! My final goal is to get past 500 reviews than I'll be satisfied for life! thank you all once again for your feedback and support for this story! **

**Lockdown- Well I'm straight and I can live without the ensemble, however I appericate the fact you love this story and especially last chapter and I liked how you brought up the theme for redemption for Mike, and you're spot on about Vince. Mike hadn't gone to ruin completely, Vince had. With Vince gone and many issues wrapped up last chapter, the second half of the story officially begins from this chapter onwards.**

**Chameishida- Your gag made me howl in laughter, I think the lake's reply was the best "Fuck off!" *shakes* poor Lake, there needs to be some love for it. I mean yeah it killed Mike but It couldn't help it and it did kill Vince, who knows it might become a very helpful member of the team in the future, I mean the Lake has had tremendous character development (I'm joking) anyway I like how you pointed out Christa had gone mad, but you can understand why and not just hate her instantly, who knows maybe she'll find redemption in the next few chapters.**

**ffapathy- Loved your review! Your part on Vince made me smile as I put a lot of effort into writing that and I'm glad to see it's paid off, I personally thought he was tragic villain as it wasn't always an asshole. In the game I was confused about how one sided and generic Carver seemed as a villain. I wondered what could make him turn out like this? Rather than explore Carver's past too much in my own fic, I decided (to try and hit it closer to home) have an ally slowly become like him through the pressures of the post-apocalyptic world, and that ally was Vince. **

**emilyrose272- Thanks for your review! Glad to see some Nick-Stef love out there!**

**CaTs RuLe- Yes, I updated and I'm glad you liked it. As for a sequel to Going to Ruin? At this stage I have absolutely no idea, although if I did make a sequel it would be much shorter than the first two stories, as the ending I have planned for Going to Ruin... yeah I won't say anymore. **

**Rebloxic- Made you scream again I see. I always kill off the characters you don't expect to die and try to assure the reader when their safe when "no one is safe" (the walking dead motto) either way you're right, Vince is dead indeed.**

**Kristal- Dynamite- Eagerly awaiting the next chapter for Black Hair and Blue eyes and hope you get around to updating soon, on the other hand thanks for your review! I knew you'd like the Nick-Sarah-Stephanie trio, I'm going to have a good time writing about them.**

**Bubbles2k100- I try to never disappoint and I'm glad you guys all like the fic at the moment! **

**AquaDestinysEmbrace- Yep, lost my power at 5 but managed to get to 6 before Freddy got me (I was so proud of myself) and thanks for your review! **

**Ayuka86- Yep Luke 1 Lake 0. Unfortunately it's Mike 0, Lake 1. Or a less depressing statistic Vince 0 Lake 1.**

**and thanks the rest of you for your kind words! Now onto chapter 31 out of 52!**

* * *

The blaring of the cultists horn had the two of them sprinting through the forest like madmen, even at a distance the two men knew that the hunt was on, that the cult was aiming for them. It would all be over if those walker-skinned clad freaks got anywhere near them.

"Why... can't... they... leave... us... the...fuck...alone ?" one of the men panted, wiping his sweaty forehead as he ran on.

The other man didn't respond to him, he was too focused on the path ahead of him the two young men ran on until their legs were filled to the brim with lactic acid. Aching all over and panting like thirsty dogs, the quieter of the men pulled himself and the other man into a dense bush of vegetation, as they crouched in the dense vegetation holding their breath and simply waiting for any sounds of approaching people.

Nothing.

The horns had gone eerily quiet, the birds sang in a mocking manner none of the two men breathed. One of them constantly wiping back strands of his long blonde hair back across his forehead so he could see more clearly. The blonde man's crystal blue eyes peered out from beyond the nearby golden leaves and into the silent forest around him.

"See anything Jim?"

"Dave shut the fuck up, just because we can't see em, doesn't mean their not nearby" Jim snapped back to Dave, a man slightly smaller than Jim in height with spiky black hair and eyes. Dave and Jim crouched in that bush in silence for hours, their fear of the cult propelling them into this silence, afraid that even one simple squeak or breath they took, would create enough noise to draw the cultists in. Like flies drawn to a decaying corpse.

"I think were in the clear" Dave finally whispered as he poked his head outside of the bush. Jim watched him with a bated breath, expecting his friend to be hit with a bullet almost instantly. After a minute of waiting Dave stepped out of the bush fully, since he hadn't been shot Jim joined him as he peered around the forest. Jim's sigh of relief was the telltale sign they were in the clear, for now.

"Man, you'd think the fucking flare we saw last night would draw their attention, why go for us rather than them?" Jim asked openly of Dave, Dave shook his head , there wasn't an simple answer for this. Ever since they had fled from Marisol last night they had bumped into members of the cult once again. Who had given chase to the two terrified men, open firing the second they were seen. Dave and Jim had barely escaped that and now they were in clear... or so it seemed.

A few hours later the two men sat huddled around a small campfire, Dave shuddered at the freezing gales that tore through his layers of clothing, the meekly spitting fire in front of him did nothing to warm his frozen bones.

"Carl always knew how do this right" Dave reminisced as Jim glared at him.

"Yeah, well Carl's not fucking here anymore, it's just us" Jim snapped at Dave bitterly, Jim's bright blue eyes were gazing intently at the weak fire in front of him, as Dave stared worriedly at his friend.

"What happened to Carl wasn't your fault man. He... none of us knew he'd go and do what he did" Dave stated, remembering vividly seeing his friend dangling from the end of a noose as he held back the bile in his throat. Jim closed his eyes at the memory and shuddered as he growled "I wanted to bury him Dave, that's all I fucking wanted to do. Bury him, fucking Marisol, the fucking bitch, we should have ditched her sorry ass so much sooner..."

"Yeah well we have now. Going back to take on that other group was fucking suicide, if that group didn't deal with her then no doubt the cult did" Dave reassured Jim. Jim seemed to relax slightly as he leant back, comfortable in the knowledge that Marisol had to at least be dead.

"Remember when we were kids and you and Carl..." Dave began a story from their past to try and cheer Jim up, but seeing the look on Jim's face turn sour instantly he knew he was venturing into dangerous water so he slowly closed his mouth, as Jim snarled "I'm fucking hungry".

"We'll... try and find food when we can" Dave meekly assured him, as his own stomach gave an enormous rumble.

"Where are we going to fucking food, huh Dave?" Jim challenged him.

"I dunno, somewhere alright? Marisol and Josh were good at hunting..."

"There not fucking here anymore alright!" Jim exclaimed, getting angrier by the second, as Dave felt his own frustration begin to grow.

"Look man, we gotta move on! I know you're upset about the others! But were nearly at the highway, it will lead us into Michigan and then..."

"AND THEN? AND THEN WE GET TO FUCKING WELLINGTON!? WE FIND NICE CHICKS TO FUCK FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES! WE LIVE IN FUCKING PARADISE? THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS DAVE! WE HAVE NO FOOD! WE'LL STARVE BEFORE WE GET TO WELLINGTON, AND WE HAVE THOSE FREAKS ON OUR ASSES... AND FUCK...!" Jim explosive rant finished there, as he kicked the weak fire in front of him, plunging the pair of them into a miserable darkness.

"I KNOW YOU'RE FUCKING UPSET! BUT THIS ISN'T MY FAULT JIM! FOR MY SAKE YOU GOTTA KEEP GOING!" Dave screamed at him, as Jim simply stared at his shoe which was covered in bits of chipped and burnt wood. Sighing once again, Jim simply allowed himself to fall to the floor as he muttered to a nearby leaf.

"I keep seeing her face Dave. Carl didn't want to do it, but we pressured him into it, what the fuck did we do?" he muttered, as Dave gulped.

"We were still all shook up from what happened to Anne. Marisol encouraged us all to do it and... I don't know man. We lost our shitty little heads alright? I didn't want to rape a defenceless teenager but after seeing Anne, just... God... revenge doesn't solve anything does it?" Dave asked of a sullen Jim, as the blonde man shook his head.

"That must have got to Carl, he was the greatest man I knew. He was kind to us, but after what happened to Anne and then Josh and becoming nothing better than fucking rapists, no one would believe he was a good guy" Jim said sullenly as Dave couldn't simply respond as he gulped and held down the tears. Rapists, how the hell had they come to this? The plan was to get to Wellington with the group.

Alex would lead the way, Anne would be cool and calm, Marisol would boss everyone around, Josh would be his nervous little self, Jim would be his usual clever and know it all self. Carl would be kind to everyone and himself, he would simply be Dave. He would encourage everyone and remain silent, as he watched over Anne. Him and Anne had formed a father-daughter sort of bond and Anne always like to speak to him more than the others. Seeing her raped and murdered... simply lying dead in the mud. It crushed Dave completely and in those moments he had raped the other girl he didn't think straight.

Looking back, he knew Anne wouldn't be proud of what he had become, this is why he spent so many nights awake recently gulping or crying himself to sleep. Regretting all he had done and wishing more than anything...

He had a second chance.

Everyone in their group was dead, Jim was slowly breaking and they had no food and morale was at an all time low.

"Hey fella's nice to overhear some polite discussion goin' on"

A new voice, a southern drawl of an accent that sounded highly amused at what he had overheard, Jim whipped around instantly and aimed his gun at the figure of a man who was causally leaning against a tree, inspecting his fingernails.

"Fucking cultist!" Jim spat, coming to that instant conclusion. The mysterious man who leaned on the tree tutted slightly at his comment.

"The use of the profanity is offensive to religions and cult's that work for the greater good..."

"Don't give me that bullshit! I know who you are!" Jim shouted, his gun quivering in his fingers, as the man simply smiled at him and muttered "Wow, really!? Guess what man, I know who I am too! Were so smart we should go solve the mysteries of the universe together!"

Jim simply glared at him, as Dave felt quite curious about this stranger who was simply listening in on their conversation rather than kill them right on the spot.

"Who the hell are you? What do you want?" Dave asked, as the man leant off the tree and started to walk towards the pair of them, as Jim snapped back at Dave "His a fucking cultist Dave! We know what he fucking wants! To kill us, skin us and wear us like a fucking cloak..."

"Woah relax there for a minute Britney Spears" The man (who Dave could now see, wore a heavy looking dark blue coat and had a blue baseball hat planted at the top of his head) said to a fuming Jim, gazing at Jim's long blonde hair. Before Jim could shout or shoot at the man (or both) The man in the baseball cap continued speaking.

"I'm not part of any cult that wants to skin you alive or whatever... before you guys starting wonderin' why I'm randomly out in the woods, I'll have you know I'm not a werewolf or cultist that wants to wear you stinking skins. I'll have you know I don't live here, I've got a truck on the road nearby, me and her have been through a lot, had her headlight smashed in, tyres burst..."

"Bullshit! If you have a truck you'd be at Wellington already!"

"That's where I'm going Madonna, I stopped the truck because I've been drivin' all day. Thought I'd go for a stroll to hunt fresh game and then I find you guys" he mused.

"You left your truck? If you love it so much aren't you worried some one will steal it?" Dave asked sceptically, nothing about this stranger made any sense to him. He wasn't a cultist (he wasn't wearing anyone's skin) he didn't seem to concerned about his welfare at all. Maybe he was so relaxed because he had another group of bandits ready to ambush and kill him and Jim at any given minute. As Dave's mind raced, the mysterious man replied to his question.

"I like taking the risk, it's fun! Come on! You gotta appericate a bit of fun right! It gets so boring out here on your own you know?" the man mused merrily to the bewildered pair in front of him, the man simply sighed and muttered "Well fine, my truck's up there you guys can come check it out if you don't believe me" to which Jim kept his gun locked on the easy going man in front of him.

"You seem like you're fucking nuts, but prove me wrong and take me to this so called truck then" Jim challenged him.

"Task accepted, follow me gents" the man said, strolling leisurely through the darkening woods, as Dave muttered to Jim "Are you sure about this?" as Jim simply nodded and kept his gun trained on the man's back.

"We can shoot him if he does anything suspicious, besides if he does have a truck we shoot him the second we see it. Take it for our own and drive off, he might have a group ready to ambush us. So get ready" Jim warned his friend as Dave sighed and pulled his gun out from his belt. He wanted to warn Jim about so many things in those moments, but his mouth was dry and he remained mute. As the long haired man followed the man with the baseball cap who egged them on with "Come on slowpokes!" or "She's a damn beauty, you'll wanna see her alright!"

It happened at last, a clearing in the trees. Dave's black eyes widened as he dared to actually believe it, a road! The highway! They were close after all! and what was better is that the man did have an actual truck. A blue pick-up truck with seated two in the front and whoever else wanted to squeeze in at the back. Yet Dave kept his eyes nervously on the treeline wary of groups ready to attack.

"So this is the truck?" Jim asked approaching the thing, he took a few steps towards it and this was his fatal mistake. He was too busy gazing at the truck that he didn't realize what the mysterious man directly to his left was doing. Usually people pulled out guns in a dramatic fashion, but this man did it so causally, it was if he was whipping out a pack of playing cards, without even aiming properly the man causally pointed his gun towards Jim. There was a BANG! before Jim fell to the floor, clearly dead before he even knew what had hit him.

Dave only had a second to register this, before another bullet whizzed into him, hitting his neck as Dave felt agony engulf him and blood spill from the hole in his neck. Gasping for air as blood filled his lungs, Dave looked up to see the man smiling down at him.

Dave only had one question he could gurgle in his last moments. The man was out to kill them, fair enough. So was everyone these days, but why not just shoot them while he was watching them? Make it easier for himself? Why did he drag them here alive just to kill them there? What was the point? He summed up all these questions with a simple word.

"Why?"

"Because it's fun" the man answered. Dave clenched his eyes shut as he thought about Anne and the rest of his deceased group, he'd be with them soon. He'd be...

BANG!

and so he was.

The man in the baseball cap smiled merrily at the two corpses laid out on the highway and muttered merrily to them "Well I said I'd show you the truck boys, didn't say you could ride in it. Hell, I didn't say I'd let you live. You need to ask more questions if you want to survive, oh wait..." He smiled at his own sick turn on words, before he simply shrugged and bent over Jim's corpse and ruffled through his backpack.

"Okie dokie Dido, let's see what supplies and shit you can share with your old pal Nate..."

* * *

Kenny was a determined man.

No matter how much his arm ached he had scooped up Sarita in his arms and was carrying his pregnant girlfriend through the forest as night began to fall and the temperatures began to drop rapidly.

"We-have-got-to-find-shelter-soon" Sarita muttered through clenched teeth as another wave of pain caused her to wither in Kenny's arm, as her hands flew defensively towards her bump. She groaned again before she looked up at Kenny, his bronze eyes were widened in increasing panic.

"... Kenny... I... I think we need to tell them" Sarita whispered, looking back cautiously at Rebecca and Bonnie, the two women had been silent the whole trek, grieving for the loved one's they had lost. Kenny would not let Sarita or his child end up the way Alvin and Alvin Junior had ended up. He would protect his family and that was why he was trudging forward desperate to find shelter soon, if night fell and they were out in the open... still freezing because of their earlier dunk into the lake, then it was highly possible Mike wouldn't be the only victim of hypothermia that day.

Kenny was worried, and with all good reason, Sarita had told him the second he had managed to push him out of the lake about what the truth really was. She was pregnant, but much further along then he knew.

_"I... I'm sorry Kenny. I didn't want you to worry" Sarita shakily told him, after he shouted an explosive "WHAT!?" at her upon learning that Sarita was roughly 8 months into her pregnancy and not 2 months like he had previously thought. Yes it had been a while since Kenny and Sarita had last slept together, but that wasn't because their love was drying out, it was because Kenny was always off on supply runs trying to scavenge supplies that would keep the store running, while Sarita worked around the store. Learning that she was pregnant soon after they defeated Carver._

_She couldn't bring herself to tell the others until she was completely certain that she was well into her pregnancy and that the baby was safe, so she lied to Kenny. Told him she was pregnant but not that far along, so when the baby came early she would reveal the truth but then the pregnancy would be out of the way. There would be no big hassle, no worry, she had handled carrying her baby for a long time and coped fine with it. Wearing thick clothing to conceal her pregnancy, all was well. She would stay secure in the Hardware store, or even if they had to leave they had the truck, they had a shelter. _

_She couldn't bring herself to tell Kenny this, not even when the group was going to hell. But Kenny himself realised at that side of the lake why Sarita had truly shot Randy._

_"Sarita honey, you should have fucking said something! I could have helped you! I could have...!" he paused there, as he tried a wipe a shaking Sarita down with his wet coat, which barely made any difference. But Sarita knew this was a sign of affection more than anything else._

_"I needed those meds Kenny, I knew the baby was coming soon. I didn't want you to worry but I couldn't risk being kicked out of the group, not when I knew..." she dissolved into tears there, as Kenny pulled her closer to him as they embraced, as he muttered into her ear "Sarita, for God's sake tell me. You should have told us or at least me! I'm the kid's father! I'll do anything to protect that child, I'll..." _

_"I didn't want you to stress Kenny. Before, I thought we'd be safe in the Hardware store and then out on the road I knew we wouldn't get to Wellington before the baby came, I didn't want the group to see me as a liability, I just couldn't bring myself to tell anyone Kenny. I was scared... I was so scared..." she sobbed into his t-shirt. The only reason she had told Kenny this now, was because her bump was starting to ache horribly and she feared the shock of being in the icy water could have killed her unborn child. So she had to come clean to Kenny now.  
_

Back into the present, Sarita's question to Kenny on whether or not the other should have known about her condition remained unanswered for a short while, before Kenny muttered "Let's just find shelter first, then we'll think about it" as Sarita remained silent, she could barely walk now that the pains in her abdomen were getting steadily worse. Both she and Kenny knew what these sings meant.

The baby was coming

"Ah, we do not have to look long Kenny!" Sarita suddenly announced her brown orbs locking themselves on the dark outline of a fairly large house, in between the dense layer of tree trunks, as Kenny breathed a "Thank God!" this statement caused Bonnie and Rebecca to look up for the first time since they had started their trek through the forest.

"Well, finally a bit of luck" Bonnie managed to comment, as they four of them approached the creaky old house, it reminded Rebecca a lot of the cabin her old group resided in, expect this house was much bigger and some areas were built in brick. It was clearly a house for the wealthy, however since it had been lying here for 3 years now, most likely abandoned, it was no wonder walls of ivy had grown on the walls. Or why weeds sprouted out of the cracks in the brick. Windows lay smashed, with a few dusty large windows remaining intact, the front door of the large house remained eerily open.

"Someone might be sheltering in here. Keep your guard up" Kenny told the two women behind him, who were barely listening, yet Sarita paid utmost attention as she suggested "Hopefully it's Nick or Clementine or Stephanie, Eddie or anyone of our group" she told Kenny, as Kenny gently set her near down near to the front door of the house.

"I'll go and inspect the place, make sure it's clear. I'll scout the first floor, Bonnie you can scout the ground floor"

"Sure" the redhead woman replied on monotone.

"Sarita stay here, Rebecca watch her, would you?"

Rebecca didn't look at Kenny, her eyes were fixated on a nearby patch of grass.

"Rebecca!" Kenny snapped, this earned her attention as the grieving woman looked up from the patch of grass she was gazing at.

"Look after Sarita while me and Bonnie go inside" he instructed her, the pregnant woman nodded, as Kenny sighed he wasn't too sure about this, but then again he was certain no one was inside and he would be quick.

"Any trouble, we holler at each other. Now let's get this over with" Kenny told Bonnie as the two of them rushed into the house, the remaining guns they had used as defence as they rounded every corner, to find nothing. Merely large rooms stripped bare of any supplies, Kenny did notice a few old marshmallow's lying on the ground of a smaller room, yet these can't have been marshmallow's, as upon closer inspection they were more round in shape than marshmallow's and came in different colours.

"Not for eatin' that's for damn sure" Kenny muttered.

He found nothing else on the first floor other than the things that resembled Marshmallow's slightly, everything else had been stripped bare not an ideal place to stay, but it was large it gave them a roof over their head, so for now it was good.

"ALL CLEAR UP HERE!" He bellowed at the top of his voice, to let Bonnie know no one was lingering around upstairs, as he waited for Bonnie's reply he took a moment to himself.

They were out of supplies, only bits of food they had managed to save from the lake. They had no meds. The things they needed so badly for Sarita's pregnancy and for the baby itself... they were all gone. Kenny tried to take deep breaths to calm himself down, but in a way Sarita was right, he shouldn't have known this truth. As now his every thought was his worry over what would happen to Sarita or the baby if they didn't find the meds they needed.

He'd do anything to make sure his new "family" was safe.

Downstairs Bonnie wasn't having any better look, she quickly swiped up an old photo that lay neglected on the dusty floor, she promised herself she would look at the photo later to see if it showed who originally owned the house, But for now, her blue orbs were drawn to a door to her left that stood slightly ajar, curious the redhead creaked open the door further to see steps descending down into a dark basement.

"FLOOR'S CLEAR! YOU CAN COME ON IN! I'M GOING TO GO CHECK THIS BASEMENT HERE!" Bonnie yelled for all to hear, she heard Rebecca help Sarita into the building behind her, as she slowly descended into the black basement. Each foot she placed on the staircase making an eerie creak, as she peered into the darkness, she lost her flash light back at the lake, which was a damn shame as it would come in handy now.

She reached the end of staircase when she heard the muffled sobbing. She turned around and caught the outline of a tall woman rocking back and forth in the corner of the room, she didn't need to peer in closer to know who it was, instead Bonnie felt hot tears slide down her own cheeks.

"I... I miss him too Christa. I'm sorry for your loss" she muttered to the tall African american woman.

Christa sniffed and looked up at Bonnie, even if they hadn't agreed on everything in the past for now Christa was thankful for Bonnie's presence, she was glad to know she wasn't alone in grieving for Mike.

But she had never felt so alone in all her life.

* * *

For Clementine it wasn't easy listening to Luke and Eddie argue.

She always assumed Luke and Eddie were the most easy going and likeable guys in the group, so seeing them bicker was a distressful sight for her. The whole thing started when Luke started cursing Vince for what he had nearly done to Clementine. Eddie had been in the corner, silently tending to AJ, spooning the infant mashed up food that he ate slowly. But upon hearing Luke's comments he finally snapped "You know dude, it wasn't the greatest idea to step out onto the lake anyway!"

Luke turned to him, quite surprised at his harsh words, as he told the black haired man "Listen Eddie, I know it seemed reckless but it worked! Vince drowned and that what I was hoping for..."

"IT WORKED!?" Eddie exploded, as he careful laid AJ onto the ground, as he rose to his feet, his face turning beet red at a very fast pace "MY BEST FRIEND'S DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU! THE GROUP IS FUCKING SEPARATED BECAUSE OF YOU! WHO KNOWS WHO THE FUCK ELSE DROWNED IN THAT DAMN LAKE! IF YOU'D HAVE JUST THAT SOMEWHERE ELSE... IT WAS FUCKING STUPID PLAN LUKE...!"

"HEY! YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT! I KNOW WHAT I DID WAS STUPID...!"

"FUCK YEAH IT WAS!"

"...BUT I COULDN'T LET YOU GUYS CONTINUE TO GO ALONG WITH VINCE! WHO KNOWS WHO WAS NEXT ON HIS TARGET LIST! I KNOW I COULD HAVE DONE THINGS DIFFERENTLY AND I'M SORRY THINGS TURNED OUT THE WAY THEY DID, BUT I AM TRYING MY HARDEST!"

"SO AM I! I'M SAVING BABIES LIVES, WHEREAS ALL YOU'RE DOING...!"

"Stop fighting!" Clementine shouted at last, losing her patience with the pair of them, as AJ began to cry at Luke and Eddie's loud voices ripping through the small building. Eddie and Luke glared at each other, both men trying to square up to each other, as Clementine tensed nervously sensing a fight on her hands.

"Don't think you're off the hook" Eddie snapped at Luke at last, as Eddie turned away and scooped up a crying AJ, (Using their remaining supplies Eddie had managed to plant another coat and t-shirt on himself, both black in colour, while AJ had some new bundles to snuggle in) Eddie stormed off towards one end of the building, while Clementine followed Luke to the other end.

"Are you okay?" she asked Luke who took off his maroon coat and threw to the ground next to him, as he sat on the floor himself, running his hands through his hair, before he gave Clementine his trademark response of "I'm fine" in which Clementine rolled her eyes and simply muttered back to him "Eddie's nice. His just angry because Wyatt died It will get better soon Luke, I know it will" in which Luke seemed to acknowledge with a simple nod.

"Ah thanks Clem. But I know some of what happened was my fault, but I am trying my best. I promise you that" he told her, as Clementine smiled at him. The pair of them looked out from beyond the windows of the small building.

"Oh yeah, almost forgot. Whoever had this must have dropped it, saw it floating in the lake and I had to grab it" Luke muttered as he pulled out Clementine's old cap from his trouser pocket, as Clementine's beaming face make Luke feel all warm and fuzzy inside as she grabbed the relic from her past. Certain she had lost it, certain that it was gone forever... with a sense of pride she planted the cap on her head and smiled.

"Thank you" she told Luke, using her best puppy dog eyes on him, his impassive face softening as he told her "I thought you'd need it, you looked weird without it Clem" he informed her, before he continued "You know you've got your hair all frizzy, didn't you tell me back at the cabin that the reason you kept your hair short was because of that Lee guy?" the fact that he remembered such a fact made Clementine beam with pride as Luke pulled some spare hair bobbles from his pocket.

"Planning on using them yourself then?" Clementine asked in light humour as he responded with a dry "Oh yeah, when my hair grows long and beautiful, I'll need these to help the lurkers from grabbin' it", He responded as he awkwardly fiddled with Clementine's hair before nervously telling her "Uh Clem, I never had sister and... well... I always assumed Rebecca would be around to help me with this sorta stuff..."

"Give them here" Clementine said, tying up her own hair into the style she once had it in, she heard Luke mutter from behind her "God help me when she reaches puberty, I..."

"Luke?" Clementine asked.

"Yeah" he replied.

"Who are you talking too?" she inquired as Luke simply shrugged and muttered "God".

"You're weird"

"I know"

They both smiled at each other never the less, Clementine loved dorky Luke the way he was and nothing could make her happier than knowing that (with Vince gone) his sanity seemed to be returning to him, yet she worried about the rest of the group and where they were she wanted them all to get to Wellington, together. To reach the destination she had failed to get to the first time.

This is what her second chance was about now.

* * *

Nick looked ahead of him, the old car that lay discarded and abandoned in the middle of the woods, provided a cramped shelter but all of the windows were intact and Sarah and Stephanie weren't in the best of shapes. Sarah was still silent and lay limply in Nick's arms and Stephanie turned more and more blue the further into the night it had gotten. Nick knew this car wasn't much, but it something.

"We'll have to sleep in there for the night" he muttered miserably pointing at the car, Stephanie swept past him however with a look of relief on her face.

"Warmth, thank you God or whoever placed that car here" she muttered to the sky, as Nick managed to humorously pipe up with "It was actually me Stef, I left it here after I crashed it, back in my old days of my mass grand theft auto..."

"Don't forget the murders, rapes, arson attacks etc... well if I'm sleeping in a car with such a dangerous convict, it should be an interesting night" she concluded with a small smile, as Nick felt himself blush as he quietly muttered to himself "Yeah, should be interesting..."


	32. A Whole Lotta Love

**A/N: Okay thanks again guys for the continued support and all and on I go writing the next chapter! **

**transfrmersfan2013- Thanks again Lockdown, but I'll stick to your new username from now on and I hope you continue to enjoy the story**

**Nothing- A new reviewer! Well thank you I am perfect (I'm joking) but thanks for your kind words.**

**CaTz RuLe- Well I might not have time after this fic is done as I'm considering starting a five night's at freddy's fic or a Battle Royale fic soon to run alongside this story (so when I get writer's block I have another genre to turn too) and after this story I have a sequel in mind, which may or may not go ahead. If it does it would be the last of my "series" ending it as a trilogy, which would be pretty cool. Anyway now Christmas is here I'll have more time to kill, but afterwards I'll be busy in my social/work life with uni and all so although I do appericate the offer I doubt I'll write a fic on the 400 days characters. Although I think you'll find the fics "Into The Fray" and "Into The Fray Season 2" very fitting if you're looking for 400 days related material. **

**ffapathy and Chameishida- Thank you both for your support and positive feedback, I hope the second half to this story lives up to the first half and Chameishida I like you're idea on this fic being divided into five episodes, I can give their names now...Episode 1: A Family Divided. Episode 2: On The Run, Episode 3: Friends To Fear, and (Spoiler-ish) from the lake onwards Episode 4 which I'd label The Shaky Stones (you'll find out later why I'd call this episode this) and then Episode 5 which I end with No Holds Bars. **

**Kristal Dynamite- Thank you! I appericate reading through your reviews a great deal**

**Rebloxic- Liking the little review/songs your coming up with, curious to see what you'll make of this next chapter**

**Bubbles2k100- I am considering a sequel, but I know if I went ahead with it the sequel would be the last one of my Walking Dead stories for sure.**

**and thanks everyone else for your reviews and support!**

* * *

"... Clementine! Hey! Can you hear me Clementine! Clem! It's me! It's me! It's me!" The voice trailed off, before it warped into one much more business like and sinister, as the blurry faced muttered once again.

_"It's me"_

Clementine awoke next to Luke, heart racing as she glanced around the small building she was in, nobody was around who shouldn't have been there. Eddie, AJ, and Luke were sound asleep. The 12 year old gulped and rubbed her eyelids already forgetting about the dream and the sinister voice that had awoken her beforehand.

But she knew _something_ was off. It had been ever since she had that first nightmare back at Howe's.

* * *

Nate had not managed to retrieve much from the corpses of the two men, a few flash-lights, a loaf of bread or two and a half full bottle of water "Woulda preferred whiskey, is that too much to ask gents" he thought to himself, tutting in a disappointed manner towards the to corpses laid out next to him. Never the less he sighed and whipped his cap off his head, exposing his short spiky brown hair to the freezing gales of the American Winter.

"Hmm... freezing. Wouldn't you say so Russ?" Nate asked of the figure next to him.

"You're fucking freezing man, killing those guys. That did fuck all to you, I don't even know why I'm still here" Russell responded in an angry tone, as he glared at Nate through his hate fuelled black eyes. Nate merely shrugged and patted Russell on the back.

"You're my boy Russ. Like hell I'd ever let you leave, besides I'm doing this to keep us safe. To keep us all safe" Nate added, as a few more figures glided into view. One of them being that of a attractive blonde woman with freckles dotting her cheeks and big sapphire eyes with a blue bundle in her arms.

"Natey honey you know little Timmy here is your boy, as much as Russell is family now, don't forget about your own biological son" she told him in an accusing manner, as Nate merely smiled and picked up his biological son and twirled him around in his arms as the infant laughed happily.

"Oh give me a fucking break Heather, he never stops talking about his real son" Russell snapped, as Nate's wife merely tutted (in a similar manner to her husband) and muttered "Russ behave. I don't want little Timmy picking up on your bad language..."

"If Little Timmy Stays around his dad, bad language is going to be the last thing he has to worry about" Russell told her, glancing down at the corpses below him. As Nate merely smiled at his infant son and told him "Daddy gotta do some bad things sometimes son. But when you get older you'll understand why..."

"Timmy won't get fucking older Nate! His dead! Their both dead! Get over it!" A harsh, realist voice piped up in Nate's head, a voice that he chose to ignore.

Marisol watched from nearby, knowing that a grown man dancing around his own truck, holding thin air was a very clear sign he was completely insane. Add that to the conversations with thin air, with the man even putting on different accents to impersonate those he had long lost... Marisol knew it was probably best to move on and leave this man (who she noticed had killed her former allies, as their corpses lay spread-eagled on the road ahead of her) but this man had guns, tons of them in the back of his truck.

She also observed that he had food, lots of it. Marisol's stomach gave an enormous rumble she needed food and drink more than anything.

The Spanish woman had followed the flare but had got to the site too late, she scoured the side of the lake bank she was on, only to find the frozen corpse of the African american man who she vaguely remembered being called "Mike" lying there. She simply stared at the corpse before moving on, looking at the fragmented pieces of ice floating on the lake surface she gathered that the rest of the group had either drowned or escaped. Either way the lake had claimed one of them, but Marisol knew the rest were probably dead, Mike was one of the strongest, no doubt he ditched the others and then died of hypothermia trying to drag himself to safety.

"Karma's a bitch" Marisol thought smugly, glad that some justice had been paid to Anne. She still wore Anne's bandanna tightly on her head, however ever since the lake the feeling of revenge had ebbed away for Marisol. The other group were long gone, now she had to focus on survival alone and it was because of her hot-head and thirst for revenge that she had ended up out here in the first place, all by herself.

She craved company and food. She knew this man "Nate" craved company too, just not from the male gender. Marisol knew what he wanted.

She could die in the woods, or take her chances by teaming up with an insane man.

With a shaky breath she stepped out of the bush she was hidden in and out onto the road. Unaware that she and Nate were both being watched by someone else.

Who wasn't a cultist.

It was a dark night that night, Nate was about to get back into his truck and lock up for the night to get some beauty sleep. (Hence if bandits tried to attack he would always know by their shouting, the banging on the windows, or other signs) however bandits these days seemed stupider than ever. Failing to fire at the windows or tyre's of his truck, they were clumsy and Nate was always able to slam his foot down on the pedal and speed off.

All bandits seemed to be... running from something. Nate could tell, they weren't the hunters they were the hunted. What that man said... about a cult or something like that, was that true? Nate didn't know.

"Good thing you have a truck anyway" Heather told him.

Nate smiled and was about to reply back to her, before he realised that the outline of another woman was swiftly approaching his truck, without even hesitating Nate aimed the scope of his hunting rifle at the woman who froze instantly, as he bellowed "STOP!".

Nate approached her, as the weak moonlight threw her features into sharp detail. She had to be in her late twenties with sleek black hair, big brown eyes and tanned skin, she had to be Spanish or Italian in origin and Nate was very happy to have such a beauty approaching him and it had been so long since... well he managed to keep his thoughts to himself. Besides she could just be out to kill him and steal his supplies, hot or not Nate wasn't a complete idiot and even if it cost him sex...

They were plenty more fish in sea.

"So hot stuff what you doin' out here? Just taking a midnight stroll right up to my truck?" Nate asked of her causally, a way to hide his insanity as Marisol cranked her head to one side, without any warning she tipped all of her supplies and Nate's feet, her remaining guns, her knives, Nate noticed she didn't have any food or drinks on her.

"There, I'm not a threat I promise you that" she muttered to him as Nate merely scratched his ear and told her "So Penelope Cruz, you just stroll up to me at midnight in the middle of nowhere and offer me all of your guns and supplies. Seems just a tad bit suspicious" he said once again in an easy tone, but Marisol wasn't fooled. Two could play at this game.

"I trailed you for a while, those guys you killed were with me at one point" She informed him glancing at the corpses.

"And I care because...?" Nate left the question hanging as Marisol merely laughed at him, before she responded "You shouldn't care, those guys didn't have a pair of balls between them. They ditched me after I went back for avenge a group member we lost" she told him, as Nate listened on, his guard starting to slip slightly as his gun lowered in his hands.

"Did you get your vengeance then?" he asked in curiosity.

"No, a lake did it for me"

"Sounds like a cool Lake, I'd like to meet the guy"

"I'll be sure to bring him along next time"

The lighting fast dialogue was cut short as Nate ruffled a hand through his hairs before putting his cap back on and muttering "So... you... Spanish then or French. Please be Spanish because I can't deal with that hairy armpit shit, especially on a woman..."

"I see. You're stereotyping others. Well you fulfil my stereotype of being the culturally ignorant all out american man..."

"... which you can't help but love" Nate announced proudly as Marisol giggled slightly and decided to tell him "Spanish, I'm Spanish if you let me into your truck I could teach you more, make you a bit less... ignorant" she finished there, as Nate felt himself fluster slightly, regaining himself he managed to reply back, as honestly as he could.

"If you are planning to kill me, can you at least just fuck me first. Because it's been ages since I last got lucky with a girl and I'm fine with the whole Imma kill you and take your supplies thing, but at least make a dying man happy" Nate requested of her, as Marisol gave him a funny look before she managed to respond to his bluntly honest statement.

"You know when I first saw you talking to yourself I was going to kill you Nate. But now I see were better together you give me your food and supplies, I give you... anything you want. Besides it's better if we have each other's backs" she argued logic to him, as he simply nodded. Marisol could feel his leaf green eyes scanning her all over as she shuddered and prepared herself for this. Surviving certainly wasn't easy and like Nate had just told his long lost son.

Sometimes you had to do bad things to survive.

"Well you're gonna freeze out here, why don't you come on inside my truck, seeing as you know my name. It only be polite to know your's, missus..."

"Marisol" The Spanish woman said clearly, Nate turned and used the key to open the door to his truck, he turned around to find Marisol peeling off the last of her clothes. Nate's eyes nearly popped out of his head at the site of her standing there nude in the moonlight, he struggled to control his most obvious sign of lust and that being the growing lump down south.

Marisol smiled at him and muttered "You're right Nate, it seems to have gotten colder, guess I need to come inside your truck now" her flirty words were making Nate smile uncontrollably as he opened the door to his truck fully and chucked his gun into the back seat with his mountains of supplies that were piled there.

"Marisol I believe there is a cult around according to your dead friend, I'd like to learn a bit more about that" Nate said, changing the topic completely, to Marisol this guy was hard to read and his topics of conversation were... interesting to say the very least But he hadn't killed her yet, that was one good sign.

"I will exchange food for more information, you please me. I please you, that's how this is going to work" Marisol stated clearly laying the law down on the table as Nate guffawed and announced clearly "I ain't got nothing to worry about then, my third leg always pleases the ladies. Quite simply I'm too hard to resist" Marisol beamed at his cocky words before he led them both of them into the truck.

"Oh trust me you're really not" The woman in the bushes thought to herself, in response to Nate's words. She sighed to herself and ran a small hand through her growing blonde hairs. There was no way she was getting that truck now, now that there were two of them, she'd be shot down in an instant and she didn't have any guns to help the situation. No the only thing she had in her arms...

Was Hilda.

Sighing too herself, she stood up and bolted back into the woods. That woman and those other dead guys they had to have come from somewhere, there had to be more people around, hopefully people with guns. Even if Nate did move on, the blonde woman could track him, she'd been tailing that truck for a while now. Hoping to get to Wellington without the inconvenience of walking, besides she was aware of the giant ass cult that were shooting down survivors like her. Every survivor seemed to be moving in the same direction, so she should have found somebody soon.

They were all trying to get to Wellington.

* * *

Kenny had settled down upstairs, with Sarita dozing comfortably on the worn out man's shoulders. He promised to look for supplies the following day, but as for tonight him and Sarita simply rested their aching bones.

Rebecca was curled up asleep on one of the upper floors, Bonnie stood on guard by the door, her drooping blue eyes locked on the closed door in front of her, who knew what could have got in? But she was bored and not just bored of guarding the door either, she was bored of everything right now. Tired of life and not really seeing a future laid out in front of her.

Bonnie wanted to go check on Rebecca, but a strange noise caught her attention, as her eyes directed themselves towards the basement of the building.

Christa's return had been met with mixed responses, Bonnie herself was sympathetic to her, Rebecca however was silent and cold, Sarita offered her a few words of sorry. While Kenny bluntly told her "Christa, look I know this is a tough time for you. But you gotta get your shit together! Sarita's baby is on the way and..."

"and what?" Christa snapped back, as Kenny went silent "I get that this is important for_ you_ Kenny, but there's nothing left for me!"

"That's bullshit! I lost my family but I got up and carried on and I found Sarita...!"

"YOU LOST YOUR FAMILY ONCE!" Christa exploded, causing Kenny to flinch as she continued to rant "I LOST MY FAMILY ONCE TOO! OMID AND OMID JR! BUT GUESS WHAT KENNY I PICKED MYSELF UP AND FOUND A NEW FAMILY JUST LIKE YOU DID! I FOUND ARVO, VITALI, NATASHA AND BURICKO! AND GUESS WHO KILLED MOST OF THEM! THAT'S RIGHT THIS STUPID GROUP! AND THEN AFTER LOSING MY FAMILY AND MY HAND MAY I ADD! I FIND MIKE AND GUESS WHAT HE DIED TOO! YOU LOST YOUR FAMILY ONCE KENNY! TRIPLE THAT PAIN IF YOU ANY GOD-DAMN IDEA WHAT I'M GOING THROUGH!"

Ever since her outburst Christa hadn't spoken, Kenny muttered a "Christ, I'm sorry Christa... I didn't know" which she ignored. However later on she did seem to appericate that Kenny gave her some canned beans to eat. She muttered a short "Thanks" to Kenny in which he seemed to appericate. Before he went upstairs to tend on Sarita once again, other than that Christa had remained silent and kept herself in the basement openly grieving. Rebecca hadn't been seen most of the day, but Bonnie caught glimpses of her wandering the upper floors, in a similar manner to a walker.

Her eyes were lifeless, she stumbled along. This wasn't good.

Bonnie herself was grieving deeply, yet Kenny seemed to sense the despair in the large house and had asked Bonnie first on the supply run with him, which she accepted with a nod. It seemed to Kenny and Sarita she was dealing with her grief "better" than the other two woman. Yet Bonnie wasn't the most emotive person and despite what people thought of her.

She wasn't as mentally strong as people thought.

Hearing the sound again from the basement, a curious Bonnie descended the stairs. A curiosity spurred on by Christa's noises... which seemed liked groans of pleasure as her voice sounded chirpy and merry, Bonnie knew she shouldn't have gone down those stairs, it wasn't good. It never was, she noticed that there was another door in the basement that she had missed before, Christa must have been in that small room, and she dreaded to think of what Christa was doing, as she opened the door to the small room.

The marshmallow's... or the rounded marshmallow things, they were in the room now too. But drawn on them were crying faces and sad faces, all drawn on with black marker pens and most hauntingly of all was the large text written on the wall of the small room, it was a poem...

**_DADDY'S STICKING NEEDLES INTO HIS ARM, HIS ACTING FUNNY_**

**_MUMMY GOT BITTEN WHEN WE GOT OUT OF THE CAR, SHE SAYS SHE HAS AN UPSET TUMMY _**

**_I AM SCARED, DADDY HAS GOT A GUN_**

**_I AM CRYING, THE MONSTERS ARE BREAKING IN WE CAN'T RUN_**

**_MUMMY SAYS THIS POEM IS BEAUTIFUL AND I SHOULD BE PROUD OF MYSELF FOR BEING ONLY SEVEN_**

**_BUT I HAVE TO FINISH NOW, DADDY IS HUGGING ME AND MUMMY NOW, SAYING WERE GOING TO HEAVEN_**

Bonnie gasped, gazing down at Christa just in time to see her sticking another rusty needle into her arm.

"It... makes me forget" Christa told Bonnie, as Bonnie gawked openly at her, the needles were all rusty and filled with God knows what. Before she could stop Christa, Bonnie had to glance at the photo of the family first that she had picked up. It showed an Asian family, a father, a mother and a young girl. Looking back up again she saw their decomposing corpses next to a giggling Christa. All curled up in a ball, as the largest skeletal figure (the father no doubt) had his arms wrapped tightly around the remains of the mother and daughter.

A pistol lay next to the father and by the shielded form of the girl, a small black marker pen.

"Oh Christ have mercy on their souls..." Bonnie muttered, tears sliding from her eyes uncontrollably as Christa simply laughed harshly and spat "I wonder if the dad killed them because he was high. Or because he was generally serious..."

"Stop it Christa" Bonnie mumbled, barely audible suffice to say Christa didn't stop.

"The dad was naughty, these needles down here and a box of porno mags over in that box over there. Surprised no one stole them, because the girls in those mags are smoking hot. Nothing like you or me. I'm black, I'm too tall like a giant I'm fucking ugly and you're a scrawny ginger bitch, I mean were only with guys because these models are fucking dead. If they were here... we'd be chucked to the side..."

"Christa, please take those things out of your arm! You don't know what's in them!" Bonnie begged more audible, tears continuing to stream down her face.

"Shut up Bernie!" Christa shouted, her eyes slightly out of focus as she coughed and managed to mutter "But... then again I used to look down on druggies like you, but now I don't. Why'd you quit Bonnie? This is good stuff..."

"STOP IT!" Bonnie roared charging forward she forcibly tried to tug the needle out of Christa's remaining hand, yet the African american woman kept a tight grip on the needle and easily managed to push Bonnie to the ground, the redhead landed on her face next too a needle. A needle she wanted to use for a long time now.

"Mike had a big cock, you gotta admit that haven't you Bonnie? Me and Mike... man I used to tell him about how much I hated you for blowing off my hand and he used to agree with me. He didn't love you Bonnie, you're too scrawny for him, your tits aren't big enough..." Christa's hate fuelled words were slowly breaking Bonnie down, she couldn't be sensible anymore, she just wanted some form of release. So in a sort of anger, she grabbed the nearest needle and jabbed it into her arm and pushed...

"Personally Christa, I'm surprised that Clem fucking hates you after you spent 16 months with her. Guess you are the biggest bitch on earth for that" Bonnie couldn't get high on... whatever the hell was in syringe in seconds. But she felt confident never the less by arguing back to Christa. Christa's eyes widened when she saw that Bonnie was joining her in her indulgence, the tall woman laughed and muttered "Picking up old habitats Bonnie?" the question didn't go unanswered.

"Yep, I missed this" Bonnie admitted.

Christa laughed again, before she blurted out "Clem hates me. I know that, she bonds with guys better than us girls. That's why she liked Lee and Luke over me, even though I was there for her, I still am, but I can't change the way she is. She's a tomboy, maybe she'll grow up to be a lesbian..."

"Hang on a sec Christa! It's too early to think like that!" Bonnie exclaimed.

"Might as well think it, if Sarah got raped Clem's gotta know about it. Besides she's twelve she's not eight anymore, she'll learn all about it soon" Christa was saying, as Bonnie muttered "I think she already knows, but at her age she ain't interested"

"I wish I wasn't interested. It would avoid a lot of pain" Christa admitted, as the two woman continued to laugh away into the night.

Unaware of the danger they were injecting into themselves.

* * *

"Dango"

It was Sarah's first merry word since she the lake. Crawling into the car that night Nick and Stephanie had to awkwardly share the back seat, while Sarah was allowed to rest in the front seats, Nick had to brush what he labelled as "Fuckin' Marshmallow's" from all off the back seats. Sarah gazed at them before politely correcting him with the word "Dango" as Nick looked up at her bewildered.

"What?"

"Dango, It's a Japanese food. I went to Japan once with my parents when I was little and I remember eating it, it was really nice" she praised the food on the floor of the car, as Nick rubbed his head and Stephanie muttered "Well, does Dango go off?"

"I think so. I don't think we should eat something that has been lying here for ages" Sarah concluded, as Nick nodded in agreement "Smells funny" was his logical argument for not eating the stuff, as Stephanie rolled her eyes at him, causing Nick to inquire "What?" at her as she smiled at him.

"Just... just your answers for things sometimes Nick. They're funny" Stephanie told him, leaving him even more confused as he was before. Stephanie looked over at Sarah and turned back to Nick "Hey Nick I'm going to talk to Sarah for a bit. This is girl talk so cover your ears" she ordered of Nick, who simply muttered a tired "Whatever" as Stephanie leapt over the seats and faced a smiling Sarah.

"So... you feeling better Sarah?" Stephanie asked of her, feeling awkward around her again, but Sarah simply smiled back and responded as her merry self.

"Yeah, it's warmer in here. So I feel better" Sarah responded as Stephanie nodded and turned to face Nick again who was busy sweeping Dango out of the car, taking her chance she lowered her voice and whispered to the teenager...

"Listen Sarah, if there's anything you need to talk about with me or Nick you can talk about it. But remember Nick's a boy so he might not understand girl problems sometimes" Stephanie told the younger girl, as Sarah nodded in a confused manner, wondering where this was going as she muttered shyly "Well... It would be nice if I could find some new glasses"

Stephanie took that into account by muttering "We'll keep any eye out Sarah, but I want to talk about something else. I know you probably don't want talk about this but... when those guys... attacked you..." Stephanie ventured into dangerous waters as Sarah's eyes went wide and she shivered and hugged herself as she shyly muttered "It was scary and it hurt a lot, it... it ached afterwards but I didn't want to tell anyone because... well is that normal?" Sarah asked of Stephanie as the woman nodded.

"I've been through it Sarah, it's perfectly natural. But have you been feeling sick lately or anything like that..."

"No" Sarah muttered.

"Have you... um had any blood wee, you know what all girls have once a month, since the attack?" Stephanie inquired, as Sarah nodded her head as she muttered nervously "Is... is that bad?"

"No, that means you're fine Sarah" Stephanie said beaming, as she stood up once again as Sarah openly asked "What happens if I didn't have blood wee?"

"Don't worry about it Sarah, it's fine now. Get some rest we'll get moving in the morning" Stephanie told her, jumping back across the seats as she muttered a "Goodnight" at Sarah which was returned, as Nick awkwardly settled himself next to Stephanie in the back seat.

"I hope you weren't asking her, what I think you were asking her" Nick growled, as Stephanie merely tutted and told him "Ever since I heard I had to know she wasn't..." she paused there, remembering her own experience before she started shaking again, Nick placed a hand on her shoulder which calmed her down slightly.

"Thanks and oh by the way I told you not to eavesdrop. That was girl-talk" Stephanie stated, as Nick merely smiled and muttered "Oh well sorry for not listening to the sound of the birds instead..."

"You never know they might carry interesting gossip" Stephanie told him, before things went quiet in the car. Sarah's light snores were soon heard, Nick whispered to Stephanie that he'd stay awake and stay on guard, yet he didn't move from where he lay next to Stephanie. He could feel her soft breath on his cheek that only made him more flustered as he gazed up at the car roof, the forest around him was silent as he tried to rest, yet images of the lake kept coming back to haunt him.

"Dammit Luke I hope you got out of that one" he thought to himself, he saw Vince drag Clementine under but if Rebecca had survived than surely Luke could have too. He would have saved Clem, but even then... what about Mike? He died from the cold so who else was dead. Who else was sane? Was Christa still hunting him down? Was she still with the group? Would they ever re-group? Had the group dealt with Vince for good?

So many unanswered questions left Nick awake and restless as he tried to toss and turn but the back-seat was narrow, so narrow he feared he'd knock Stephanie off her seat. He noticed that through the night whenever he leaned closer to Stephanie she seemed to shake harder, he knew it wasn't because of the cold and then when he couldn't take staring at her anymore and simply watching her shake and try to hold herself, he whipped his own arm under her head and pulled her closer to him.

Nothing happened, Nick held his breath he had made his move.

"Want to know something about me Nick?" Stephanie finally mumbled, her façade of sleep had been poor, although her eyes were closed Nick could tell she was awake. Nick grumbled back in his deep voice "Sure" as Stephanie opened her mouth

"I'm a Klemo Nick"

Nick scratched his growing mullet and muttered "Isn't that...?"

I'm a Kleptomaniac Nick, it's a condition where you have an impulsive need to steal things. I was diagnosed when I was a kid, nothing serious... but I used to run around school all the time with pens and stuff I'd stolen. That's how I ended up stealing the principles pen and ending up in the band..."

"Wait, what?" Nick asked, as Stephanie muttered "Oh yeah, I told Luke not you. I'm sorry but when I was with Luke we shared a lot of our life stories together. Only thing to distract us from the wolves... either way you're a lot like him. But I didn't tell him I was Klemo, I never told anyone" Stephanie mumbled into Nick's arm.

"Why are you telling me? and did Luke... talk about me?" Nick asked in curiosity, as Stephanie nodded her head and (Nick didn't even stop her) as she pulled up his long sleeve revealing the scars on his wrist.

"He wants you to stop doing this to yourself, I want you to stop as well" she told him seriously, as Nick merely gulped and replied to her in a sullen voice "It's... It's like you when you steal things Stef, I... I can't stop myself. I'm useless you heard what Christa said about me! and back at the Hardware store if I had stepped in earlier rather than watch it all go down..."

Stephanie couldn't take it anymore, she wrapped her arms around Nick's torso and pulled herself directly towards him, resting her head by his chest and listening to the steady beat of his heart.

"Just shut up Nick" she found herself sobbing as Nick cautiously threw his other hand around her waist as she continued to weep "You don't know how good you really are, just... don't hurt yourself again" she begged as Nick remained silent and instead held onto Stephanie tighter before he finally said it.

"I love you"

Stephanie didn't reply for a few seconds, before she finally replied as she looked up at Nick.

"I know"

They fell to sleep hugging each other, warm in each other's embrace and for the first time in a long time Stephanie didn't shake that night at all.

* * *

"NICK!"

It was too late, Sarah's scream had awoken him too late he was already being dragged out of the car by a walker, he hit the floor with a thud, Stephanie beside him, as they held onto each other, as the walker prepared to crash down on them...

"Jeez, break it up lovebirds" the walker snarled.

Nick blinked and looked up, wiping his tired eyes he saw a woman with short-ish wild blonde hair looking down at him.

"Yeah you're awake, I assume you people have guns, good that's excellent. I'm not hear to kill you, blah, blah, blah. Come on let's go sleepy heads, you're going to help me find a truck and we'll ride it to Wellington and live happily ever after" she spoke at a thousand miles an hour trying to drag Nick by the leg once again. But the short tempered man kicked her hand and freed himself as he looked back at her and muttered "What the fuck?"

She face-palmed herself and muttered (in a caveman's voice) "Me find truck! Truck to get to Well-Ing-Ton! You! Follow! You help! Use Gun to shoot insane truck driver! I no have Gun. Need your help! Time to move!" her words only made the trio them mutter at the same time "What?"

Again the woman face-palmed herself and quickly muttered "Okay you people are useless, let's summarise this in a few words. Follow me. Find truck. Use gun. We Get To Wellington. Away from Cult. End of story. Now let's go we haven't got much time to kill, they'll be moving soon..."

"Woah! Hang on there lady! What are you doing and who the flying fuck are you!?" Nick asked.

The woman turned around, somewhat pissed off.

"Name's Molly asshole"


	33. Feeling Blue

**A/N: Hello! so the story continues and if you haven't already, check out my new fanfic "Fourteen Nights At Freddy's" if you're into the horror indie game Five Nights at Freddy's 1 and 2 then it should be the fic for you. But just because I've started that fic doesn't mean I'm neglecting this one, updates should still come regularly.**

**ffapathy- Thanks for your review, I'm glad you find Nate interesting although he is a challenge to write at times, I'm trying to incorporate some fresh characters into the mix (hence the humorous Nate and sarcastic Molly) hopefully these two characters shed a bit of light in the story as this chapter and the next one will get very depressing. and I'm glad you pointed out the Klemo thing usually being referred to as Klepto as it's a detail I overlooked and your theory on Wellington and the cult was interesting... **

**Chameishida- Yep Hilda's back and ready to kick some ass and I surprised a lot of people thought Russell was still alive, I'll confirm it here and now that Russell and the others are mere hallucinations and are as dead as dodo's. And Russell won't be the only person Nate will be seeing in his hallucinations, and as for the title of this "episode" being the "shaky stones" it's a reference to the group's current state and you'll find out later the "stones" have something to do with Luke and Nick.**

**My name is better than yours- Thank you! I will take that upvote!**

**Rebloxic- Yay! Another ten! Glad you liked last chapter and I hope this one impresses!**

**Kristal Dynamite- Again thank you for your kind words although Russell is dead and an illusion of Nate's although Molly is indeed very alive and very awesome I hope I can write her realistically, as some reviewers here disliked her in the game for being a "Mary Sue".**

**and finally Santiago. poncini20 thanks your reviews and your PM! It really opened my eyes and made added some new interesting details for this story and I like to thank everyone else for their reviews and support, okay on with this chapter!**

* * *

Blue.

Many would say it was a peaceful colour, a colour to calm a troubled mind maybe that was why Marisol gazed peacefully at Nate's blue coat to calm her troubled mind. She stall lay nude unable to move, paralysed in place with blue and purple bruises littering her body, wondering why on earth she let Nate have his way with her. She didn't realise how... excited he could get.

She stared at the blue coat, the floor vibrating slightly below her as the truck's engine revved lightly, Nate was driving the truck still half naked, ranting to thin air as he drove his truck onwards through the north-eastern american winter, Marisol now nothing over than his sex slave. But what could she do? Try to kill him? In her state, she could barely move a muscle without pain consuming her body. In his madness Nate must have had some intelligence to hurt her this bad so she couldn't strike back.

And what was the point anyway? What would she achieve? She could kill him and steal his truck, but then she'd be alone again and he was stronger than her, as long as she kept her large mouth shut and didn't try anything reckless she was entitled to share all of Nate's supplies. Guns included, maybe he could have shot him and...

Or maybe not. Maybe some part of her craved company so badly she'd be willing to stay with this psychopath, hoping that things would change. Besides it took a while to get to know a person truly, to get them to trust you.

While Marisol lay there in silent shock, Nate looked over at his friend Dennis, his light blue eyes flickering with an infectious mischievous glint as he glanced back at Marisol's form. A easy smile wormed it's way onto his face, as he muttered to Nate "Treat her well man, ain't everyday that hot chicks come looking around for supplies" he told his green eyed friend as Nate merely nodded keeping his hands on the steering wheel.

"Hey are you Nate man, you listenin'?" Dennis asked of him again.

"You're... you're dead Dennis, aren't you?" Nate asked his friend uncertainly as Russell popped us head into the conversation.

"Were all fucking dead you fucking madman. Snap outta it, let the girl go and try to get to Wellington without killin' anyone pointlessly, if you can manage that you failed, father piece of shit..."

Nate's knuckles turned white on the steering wheel, his temper at Russell grew as his hands balled into fists. Sensing his friend about to snap, Dennis swooped in for the rescue.

"Don't let her go man, she'd die out there. Russell shut the fuck up with your moralistic bullshit..."

"Don't listen to him Nate, are you forgetting what happened to you Dennis? Your moralistic bullshit got you killed, so don't act as if you're so against it. You tried being a morale compass to the end. You're dead, but I might be alive somewhere"

"Eddie panicked, It... It was an honest mistake Nate, It's what I keep telling you..." Dennis begged of his friend.

"Man, fuck Eddie. Fucking druggie ass bastard" Nate snapped causing Marisol to look upwards, she recognised that name from somewhere.

"His dead Nate. He must be by now, no point crying over me man. I'm a piece of shit anyway" Dennis mumbled sadly, lowering his cap on his forehead as he shyly covered his face. Nate felt the need to slap his friend on the back and boom "Hey come on Den! Don't speak like that man all you need is a confidence boost! Your old pal Nate's got you covered!"

Russell face-palmed himself at this point and snapped openly "Nate! His fucking not real! I'm fucking not real! Do you even think the girl's real! Stop fucking dreaming us up and get a hold of yourself you crazy piece of shit! Look at you! You gotta face it man, Dennis was dead because you weren't there to stop Eddie from shooting him, revenge did nothing to help matters. Your couldn't protect your wife and son when they got devoured. You couldn't protect me when I finally ran away from you! Everything you ever want to protect just dies Nate!" Russell bellowed to a somewhat blank looking Nate, as he asked the nearby empty chair "Why'd you leave me Russ? You were my boy. The only family I had left"

Russell merely tutted in disapproval and spat "I went to find my _real_ family, I told you Nate but you just didn't listen to me. I kept telling you, you're a fucking psycho Nate" Russell's nagging seemed to wear Nate down slightly as he began to question himself his head feeling slightly dizzy.

"Eddie? There was a guy called Eddie in a group I met up with. Along with a guy the name was Wyatt,do they... do they ring any bells?" Marisol piped up the question nervously, as Nate heart missed a beat. He slammed his foot down on the pedal of the truck as it screeched to a sudden halt. Sending Nate jolting forward in his seat and Marisol flying around the back seat. She landed on her back as Nate towered over her.

"What did they look like?" Nate asked barely able to believe it.

"Well... black haired guy with a beard and a few piercings, his best friend the name was Wyatt had blonde hair and glasses I think. I don't know I didn't see them for too long. Do you know them? Were you in a group with them before? Do you know anyone called Luke? Or Clementine or Vince...?"

Nate didn't listen for much longer, if what Marisol was saying was true... she had described them perfectly, in the way that Nate remembered those two fucking idiots fleeing from his old group. Seeing Dennis lying dead on the ground, his best friend his sole source of sanity after his family had been killed. A man he had spent most of his life with...

Gone in a second. All because one idiot couldn't keep a steady finger on a gun.

He didn't want to believe it. He had to be hallucinating again, without thinking he whacked his large fist around Marisol's face as she screamed in pain and blood drenched Nate's fingers.

"DON'T LIE TO ME YOU FUCKING BITCH! ARE YOU TRYING TO TAKE ME AS SOME OF FUCKING IDIOT!?" He bellowed as he struck the defenceless woman again.

"PLEASE STOP!" She roared to no avail.

"DON'T...!" Nate spat.

He hit her again, more blood splashed down her nude form.

"...JOKE!"

He kept on striking her, his head so fierce that Marisol's head cracked back and snapped. As the Spanish woman laid dead in her seat.

"...LIKE THAT!"

He hit her until the entire back seat was plastered with her crimson blood, Nate gasped for air when he looked down to see her clearly dead corpse sprawled out in front of him. He muttered a curse, but before he could go mad in grief a mad sense of lust took over. As Nate peeled off his soaking boxers and proceeded to...

"Nate?"

He blinked. He was facing a blinking Marisol once again, holding her frightened face in his arms, as he looked around. He had stopped the car and Marisol was looking up at him. Nate blinked and ran a hand through his short spiky brown hairs.

"I'm sorry, what did I just do?" he asked of Marisol, as the Spanish woman gazed at him strangely.

"You... erm... I told you about some guy called Eddie and Wyatt. I asked if you knew them, then you started hyperventilating over there. Before you grabbed me and starting shaking all over..."

Nate blinked and his rough hand trailed over Marisol's soft body, just to ensure she was real. Or was she?

"Did I... hit you?" Nate asked somewhat nervously.

Marisol didn't reply, Nate looked over to where Russell, Dennis and his wife and son watched him from where they were perched in the front seat of the car. This was real right? He wasn't dreaming this all up? He hadn't killed and raped Marisol that was too much... no. She was real. He was real, they were in the car now, this was all real.

He had a stable state of mind. Yet he still gazed up at the blue sky beyond the windscreen to calm what was an undoubtedly troubled mind.

* * *

"Woah okay lady, for one I want you full name...

"Molly Amelia Harper and your's...?

"Nick Dennis Peter Duran"

"Well nice to meet you Nick, now I can refrain from calling you asshole for 10 minutes..."

"You can't just drag us out here, Little Miss Molly Amelia Harper, were trying to find members of our group..."

"Like I said unless you have electronically tagged there is no way you're going to find them. With me or without me, it's better you follow me you might bump into some of them anyway". Molly argued logic as Nick's face descended into a usual scowl.

"How old are you?" Nick decided to enquire from out of the blue, as Molly answered with a dry "27 I think, you?"

"26" Nick replied in a determined tone, as Molly let out a screech of a laugh.

"I'm older than you. Henceforth I'm in charge around here..."

"Yeah well I'm taller than you. I'm a guy and..."

"Woah there mister! I smell a sexist in our midst..."

"I'm not sexist I'm simply tryin' to be a gentlemen..."

"Then you can hide under my fucking dress when that damn cult approaches. You can be a gentlemen being a perv on me under there while I kick some cultist ass..."

"The cult don't fucking scare me. We were surrounded by thousands of them once and we escaped with bat-shit injuries..."

"Quit the bullshit ol' blue eyes. I don't believe a damn word you say. You look like the kind of guy who spent hours in his parents basement playing DOOM or something like that..."

"Yeah and you like a damn transvestite, coming straight from your trek in the alps. Enjoy the cold wind blowing between your legs...?"

"Say that one more time big guy, and trust me you'll have something else coming between your legs and your not going to enjoy it..."

Molly and Nick paused there, the sound of Sarah and Stephanie giggling silently among each other finally reaching their ears as the pair of them looked back as the two younger members of the group burst into fits of uncontrollable laughter. As Nick and Molly gave them both quizzical stares.

"It's... just... funny...listening... to...you... argue..." Sarah gasped between her laughs, Stephanie had gone completely red and caught a bad case of the hiccups, as the pair regained themselves. To find not only Nick glaring at them, but Molly as well.

"I'm glad you two find it so funny. So mature girls, really. Speaking of which I never caught your names..."

"I'm Sarah" Sarah piped up brightly waving at Molly, Molly gave a bemused smile and waved back as Stephanie managed to mutter "Hey, I'm Stephanie, but you can all me Stef".

"A pleasure to meet you. So Stef must be hard on this world, knowing there's no other guys in the world other than this asshole. So when did you two first start getting your freak on...?"

"Hey! Nothing's erm... nothing's really..." Stephanie began awkwardly looking back at Nick whose blank look was no help at all in those moments as she coughed and muttered "Nothing's happened between us. Were just friends" she said, her voice shaky and Molly could tell that was a lie instantly. Stephanie felt bad saying it, ever since Nick confessed he loved her that previous night she was ready too... well kiss him. But they hadn't kissed, they simply held onto each other and it would be hard to make it official with Sarah around anyway. Now it was ten times worse with a nosy stranger butting into their business.

Brushing a nettle from her black shoes, Molly looked up at Stephanie and gave her the most obvious "That is such bullshit" stare she could give someone , before she gave the famous "Umm-huh" to show she didn't believe Stephanie's thin words. Nick coughed and turned slightly red, muttering angrily "We don't have time for this, we need to find that damn truck you were on about. Not fucking fooling around here..."

"Wow, you've changed your mind in a heartbeat. May I add I wasn't the one fucking fooling around in the back of that car..."

Nick and Stephanie remained silent, wishing they could crawl up into their own backsides as Sarah innocently started to catch onto what Molly was saying and asked in an excitable manner "What are you on about Molly? Are you saying Nick and Stephanie kissed in the car last night?"

Molly let out a mischievous grin and muttered to her "Be thankful you were asleep Sarah, they were doing more than kissing..."

"Alright that's enough! Sarah, you don't want to hear anymore Molly's just causing trouble" Stephanie said coolly, but the damage was done Sarah's interest was piked as she squealed and came to a giddy conclusion "Oh My God were you kissing! That's so cute!" she mused looking from a silent Nick to a fidgeting Stephanie as Nick finally muttered in his deep tone "We... didn't kiss Sarah. Stephanie is your friend. She's my friend too. Were all just..."

"Nick and Stephanie sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G..." Sarah sang to the birds above her, the early morning sun putting her in a great mood, as Molly joined in with Sarah's old song, shooting taunting glances at a seething Nick who breathed "Right real mature Sarah and really mature from you Molly. How old are you both? 6? Yeah go on keep singing draw all the walkers to us..."

"Hey Sarah have you heard this version?" Molly asked an eager Sarah, as she looked up as Molly began to sing (what she thought was a more fitting tune)

"Nick and Stephanie sitting in the car...

Are they naked? yes they are..."

"Okay that's enough!" Stephanie finally exclaimed losing her cool (and dignity) completely as Sarah burst into fits of laughter, as Molly smirked back at the black haired and blue eyed pair behind her. The damage was done, their pride was lost as they glared openly at her. Molly relaxed as Sarah mused happily to her "You're cool Molly. I knew you'd be, Clem said you were cool..."

Molly paused in her tracks. The image of an 11 year old Clementine, the little girl back in Savannah that had saved her life with a single bullet coming back to engulf her vision, as she looked down at Sarah in surprise and asked instantly "Wait a minute you know Clementine? A little girl? About 8... well would about 11-ish now had that quirky cap on her head..."

"Yep that's her. She told me she saw you in Savannah when her group went their looking for a boat. I knew you were the same Molly the moment I saw you..."

Molly laughed in some sort of happy relief, the truck forgotten. Lee's group was the only group she had directly spent some time with ever since this shit started (not counting Crawford) and she wished now she hadn't have left his group. Stalking other groups for supplies had been her tactic for a few years now, ever since she left a desolate Savannah but suddenly this girl knew about Clementine? Here? In the middle of the north-eastern american woods of everywhere?

"Why didn't you say anything before!? Oh My God where's Clem now? Is Lee with her!?" Molly asked in rapid succession, as Sarah managed to mutter replies just as rapid as she informed Molly "We got separated from Clem back at a lake and as for Lee, she told me about him. About what a good man he was, but he died after trying to get her away from some stranger..."

"What are you two talking about?" Nick asked, butting into the conversation as Molly let the news crash over her. Lee was dead, Lee. The man she had dared to hug, to grow attached too slightly in this world where everything died. Maybe if she stayed with the group Lee wouldn't have died. But...then again maybe there was no stopping it, maybe it was best that she left, Even so Molly felt a pang of sadness at this news as she gulped and answered Nick's inquiry "A girl called Clementine, was in your group I bumped across them the once..."

"It's a small world" Nick commented, looking up at the breezy blue sky beyond the tops of the thinning pine trees, they were approaching the highway alright, but Molly's interest was still focused on Lee and Clementine and that old group in Savannah...

"Yeah Lee's gone. But Kenny's still alive, remember him? and a tall woman Christa? Clementine told me they were both with her in Savannah...?"

"Oh boy how'd you forget Super Mario man and Oprah" Molly stated, she was never on the best terms with these two, finding Christa too bossy for her liking and Kenny... well too much of an asshole in general. Then again it was some small comfort to Molly that these two had also survived as it proved not everything died in this world, maybe there was hope...

and then she set her blue orbs on the highway in front of her, predictably the truck was gone, as Nick stupidly asked "Well were here. so where's the truck Molly?"

"Down the road we'll be able to track them easy, come on we'll follow this path. No doubt your friends will be heading the same way, so we might bump into them" Molly said clearly, gazing at the never-ending grey strip of a road that cut through the messy blob of the pine forest around it. For once Molly didn't seem to mind the fact that talking came first and killing came later.

"Come on we got a long walk ahead. Hell I could use catch up" Molly mused as Sarah excitably went to blonde woman's side, they trailed on ahead as Nick gave Stephanie a knowing look.

"She's going to be a fucking handful, she could just be trying to lower our guard and kill us then..." Nick began to rant, as Stephanie merely smiled at him.

"Nick"

"Yeah" Nick paused mid-way through his rant as Stephanie leaned closer to him.

"Shut up"

Nick certainly did so, Stephanie seemed nervous as she attempted to lean in to kiss him, as Nick's mind became a blur as he tried to think straight. How did he kiss again? Did he pout his lips or...?

"HEY ROMEO AND JULIET DON'T FALL BEHIND!"

Breaking apart (without even getting the chance to kiss but blushing furiously) the pair of them glared in Molly's direction before facing each other again, as Stephanie nervously stuttered "W-well erm... you know, we'll... do... well... well yeah talk about this later... yeah?"

"Yeah" Nick responded as the two followed Molly and Sarah onwards, along the gravel road as Molly smiled smugly in her new group.

It was... nice to have company again.

* * *

"How's he doing?"

"Fairly well" Eddie responded coldly to Luke's comment as he clung onto AJ shielding the child from the elements even if it wasn't that cold that morning. Clementine sighed, a frosty silence had descended over Eddie and Luke ever since the argument yesterday and she had to try and play peacemaker between the pair.

"I'd just let him grieve Clem, his mad with me but it's understandable, it might take a while but he'll be back on his feet soon" Was Luke's advice to Clementine on the matter when she came to him with her worries. Since then Clementine and Luke had been straying slightly ahead of Eddie and AJ as they trekked onwards through the pine forest. Their sights set north as Luke weaved his way through narrow spaces in the pine trees to continue their seemingly never ending trek towards Wellington.

Clementine meanwhile had her own troubles, Luke seemed stable right now. Eddie was still silent but that was understandable, besides he had AJ to look after so he wasn't dragging her or Luke down. No, Clementine was becoming increasingly concerned about the odd dreams she had, last night, she barely remembered any of her dream but she knew it was important. Only two words she could recall from her dream, and they were the sinister words...

_"It's me!" _

She heard that voice before, business like, flat, but with a sinister undertone that sent goosebumps up the 12 year old's neck, it wasn't a normal voice. She realized then that she had heard that voice before, over a loudspeaker back at Howe's.

The leader of the cult's voice.

* * *

Rebecca couldn't sleep.

Not since AJ, not since her child had died. Rebecca had done everything to save him, smashed Tavia's head in against the desk, shot the boy's father and left him for dead. Held him even when she was wounded, she had done everything in her power to keep Alvin Junior alive, but alas her best simply wasn't enough. Yet for some strange, unexplained reason she found herself not completely distraught as she thought she would be as she lay there, the grief over her lost child ebbing away fairly quickly.

The initial grief and shock had horrified her, sending her into a numb haze as the tears never ceased to flow, but now... looking back on it. She simply assumed that AJ had died, she hadn't seen her infant son actually die and until she did. Some small part of her believed her son was still alive, it convinced her to have faith in Eddie, the guy was an idiot but a good hearted one. The odds may have been stacked against AJ but he had a chance, the more she thought about it the more she convinced herself AJ was alive.

She knew she was crazy, she knew she was desperate, but she held onto that illusion. As her tears dried and she rose up from the dusty wooden floor she had attempted to sleep upon and made herself believe AJ was alive. Until she knew for certain she had to pull herself together and carry on, to her AJ was still alive. Let someone come along (maybe Eddie) and tell her officially that AJ was dead. That he was lost in the lake, then she would grieve but for now the benefit of the doubt comforted Rebecca.

The curly haired middle aged woman proceeded down the flight of creaky stairs to the old house. Kenny and Sarita were still sleeping peacefully, she heard Christa and Bonnie making high pitched giggles (painful to her ears) from the basement. She would have dismissed this as simple girl chatter, but something was off... the pair seemed to... rowdy. Hearing them shout obscure things made Rebecca glower in the direction of the basement before she finally lost her patience and stomped down those stairs with the force of a lion.

"What on earth is up with you two? What's the language... oh my God!"

Rebecca didn't know how to react? Shock and horror at the corpses, the poem scribbled on the wall. Bonnie and Christa with a multitude of rusty needles sticking out of their arms both looking haggard and worse for wear. Their eyes red and both their skins turning a very nasty hue of blue.

"What the actual fuck are you two doing?" She snapped at the two (high as kite) women in front of her, as Bonnie chirped up like a bird "Hey Bec! Here I am in all my glory! Druggie and all! Were discussing men and cocks! Was Alvin's big?" she asked of the stern faced mother as Christa burst into a chorus of giggles.

"Honestly you call yourself respectful women, get that shit out of your arms and get upstairs and clean yourself up!" Rebecca lectured them as Christa howled with laughter and bellowed "Careful Bonnie! Mama Bear Becca might bash your face against the table if you bother her! But guess what Bec's, your son's dead! You don't have a purpose anymore, so come join us. Let Kenny and Sarita have their baby and do fuck knows what else..., we'll just have some fun here..."

"I'd never stoop to this!" Rebecca snapped, as she grabbed Bonnie by the arm and ripped out the three needles sticking out of her arm as Bonnie muttered a giddy "Ow, that hurt me mummy!"

Rebecca slapped her freckled cheek, as Christa only laughed on, as Rebecca lectured "What the hell is this Bonnie!? I thought you were better than this! And I trusted you to look after Alvin, I'm ashamed of you" Was Rebecca damming verdict, Bonnie didn't seem to pay attention to her, she broke free of Rebecca's iron grip and laughed at her proceeding to run up the stairs to the basement.

"COME AND CATCH ME MUM! LET'S PLAY HIDE AND SEEK!"

"GET YOUR SKINNY ASS BACK HERE RIGHT NOW BONNIE OR ELSE I'LL..."

It was too late Bonnie had already skipped to freedom, Rebecca was about to chase after her, until she heard Christa cough violently from behind her, Rebecca turned on her heel to see Christa wiping a trail of blood from her mouth along with something else... a sort of black liquid. Christa still smiled as she looked at Rebecca with unfocused eyes and murmured happily "Omid honey?".

Rebecca bent over the tall black woman, now slightly concerned as she pulled the needles from her arm, noting she had a lot more in her arm than Bonnie had, her skin was deathly cold to the touch and Christa shook all over. Christa entered another coughing fit as she wheezed and heaved, large droplets of Christa's blood now splashed against the wall and floor as she held her bony hand over her mouth. Christa wheezed as she struggled to breathe, Rebecca looked down in alarm and began to panic. Something was wrong with Christa!

"Oh My God! Christa! Christa talk to me!" Rebecca urged of her trying to shake the bony woman, who merely shook like an puppet doll, as she coughed again, endless pints of blood leaking from in-between her cracked lips as Rebecca stood up and screamed at the stairway "BONNIE! BONNIE! GO GET HELP! GO GET KENNY! I THINK CHRISTA IS OVERDOSING! BONNIE! ARE YOU THERE!? BONNIE!? SOMEBODY WE NEED HELP! WE NEED...!" Rebecca tried shouting further but Bonnie didn't reply. Was she actually gone? Where the hell was Kenny? Asleep still? Why now she needed help she needed...

"It's okay Omid, don't shout for help. His okay" Christa croaked as she gazed at Rebecca in a loving manner, Rebecca gulped, nothing could be done now. Whatever Christa had done to herself, she had done too much damage as she lovingly held a small rock close to her chest.

"You need help" the figure of Omid croaked approaching a bloodied Christa as he took his hand into Christa's cold one.

"No, it's okay Omid. Look at him, his beautiful, I'm okay I survived the birth, go get Clementine tell her everything's okay. Were all here everything's going to be okay, here hold him" Christa held the blue bundle at Omid as he picked it up and examined his son, he looked down at it before he passed the infant back to Christa. He smiled and told her lightly "His beautiful"

"Isn't he, our son. His beautiful... this... this is perfect Omid. This... is all I ever wanted" Christa croaked feeling happy tears leak from her eyes as Omid began crying as well, she saw the blue of Natasha's and Arvo's eyes. She saw the blue coat that Omid was wearing the first time they had met, she saw the blue on Mike's skin as she was haunted by darker memories, but those were in the past now. She clung onto Omid and sobbed onto his shoulder.

"Ssshhh it's all okay now baby girl, it's all okay now..." Omid whispered into her ear, as she held onto him tighter as she wept her heart out onto his shoulder. Finally she managed to ask one last question.

"You'll always be with me? Won't you Omid?" she asked of him.

Omid replied back, the real Omid this time as he muttered "Christa, don't be silly like that, you know I always be with you"

Christa smiled, her transition into the afterlife had been a swift one, as Rebecca held onto Christa pale skeletal blue corpse as the last of Christa tears rolled down her bony face. Rebbeca sobbed on, her and Christa had never gotten on, but in the end all Christa wanted again was her family. Christa had lost so many of her family to this world, Rebecca could take comfort in one fact, while she was shivering in the basement with Christa's cold corpse propped up against her.

Christa herself was with her family now.


	34. B Loves L

**A/N: Okay happy holidays everyone! This chapter will be the penultimate one before Christmas and I hope you continue to enjoy the story into the festive season and beyond! Okay I'm feeling a bit lazy to answer reviews individually but I will take the general comments and questions into account. Firstly everyone seemed somewhat moved by Christa's death and I was fairly surprised the plot led to this anyway as she was originally going to last much longer, but then other characters fit the roles I had planned for Christa much better. So although it's sad I wanted to show the true despair of the situation the survivors are in through a suicide. **

**Secondly, it seems a lot of you are confused about Nate's POV on things and that's exactly what I wanted! It's great writing about someone who is out of it completely so you can't tell who's real and who isn't. Sure I've written dreams and hallucinations before but Nate is a experiment of a character and I have blast writing about him. I can confirm for now that Marisol is alive, however in the future you as readers will decide whether what happens in Nate's POV is true or false.**

**and as for "It's me" reference I did get that from Five Nights At Freddy's, I couldn't help myself.**

** Okay on with this chapter!**

* * *

Rebecca watched sadly as the grains of dirt trickled from in-between the cracks in Kenny's fingers. The bearded man also looked mournful as the grains of dirt he released from his hand landed on Christa's forehead. The only part of the tall woman that was still visible, with a final few grains of dirt being piled onto her corpse, the African american woman who had survived so much and come so far was finally buried beneath the earth. She was finally at peace, with her family which was more than what could be said about the trio surrounding her grave.

"Well... shit" Kenny finally muttered breaking the silence as he used his bare hands to flatten the dirt patch around Christa's grave, they had dug up a small patch outside of the house they were currently residing in. Although it was now midday the white sun did little to warm the backs of Kenny, Rebecca and Sarita. Besides the usual murky grey clouds were rolling into sight, soon or later another storm would approach, Sarita wiped away a few tears before she croaked "She... she just gave up. She couldn't take it anymore, it's just..." she dissolved into more tears as Kenny embraced her muttering soothing things into her ears. As Rebecca folded her arms over her chest feeling a bit like an outsider.

What was there to be done? Kenny finally came down to the basement to find Rebecca holding onto Christa's corpse. The shocked man had demanded instantly to know what Rebecca had done. "It ain't no lie you two didn't get on! But fucking hell Rebecca, sinking to this...!?" Rebecca looked up and pleaded her innocence with a snappy "I found her and Bonnie like this. Sticking this shit into their arms" she held up a needle for evidence as Kenny calmed down slightly as Rebecca showed him the sights, the picture of the family, the poem, the needles sprawled on the floor. Sarita managed to drag herself down to the basement by this point, she picked up on events very fast and when she learned about what had gone down... she couldn't help but sob uncontrollably.

"She committed suicide, that's what this was" Rebecca muttered sadly at the patch of earth below her, as Kenny coughed to break the heavy silence between the three caused by the death of another ally.

After Christa's death, Kenny and Rebecca stormed around the house looking for Bonnie but the redhead was nowhere to be found, Kenny even dared to search the woods around the house for a short while, shouting Bonnie's name hoping that the high as a kite woman would register his voice. However Sarita began doubling over in pain shortly after Kenny had left, leaving Rebecca to run out to find Kenny, in the hours since Kenny did not bring any plans to try and find Bonnie once again. Sarita needed him by her side and whether Rebecca liked it or not she knew that Sarita's baby was coming and that Kenny valued his son or daughter's life, over that of a friend.

"Anyone want to say anything?" Kenny asked of the two woman to his left, he sounded mentally exhausted as he tried to rub the deep wrinkles developing on his forehead. Sarita muttered a simple "I'm sorry this happened to you Christa, I hope you found peace now wherever you are" before Kenny gave his short speech "Ah, Christa look we didn't always get on but... fuck, did you have to leave us like this? It was like Kajtaa wasn't it, hey Christa? I forgive you but it still don't make it right..."

"Kenny" Sarita sobbed, as she noticed Kenny's one remaining eye had become strangely reflective. Kenny sniffed and gazed back into his pregnant girlfriend's eyes "I just... I'm sorry Sarita, it just brings back memories" he told her as she held onto him tightly. Kenny turned to Rebecca.

"Anything you want to say?"

Rebecca shook her head as she silently gazed at the patch of dirt below her, at her silence Kenny sighed and supported Sarita as they limped slowly back towards the house. Rebecca tailed after them a short time later, she said all she needed to say to Christa as she died.

Christa had simply lost too much and given up in the end.

Back inside the house the mood was more sombre than ever, Kenny helped Sarita to seat herself on the floor as the two kept their heads bowed and bathed in the dust and silence around them. Christa was dead, Bonnie was missing two people were gone in the space of a night and the house felt much emptier now. Kenny could only pull Sarita closer as she rested her head on his shoulder, taking off his cap and ruffling his musty greying hairs.

Christa, Lilly, Clementine... all people he had known from the past who had come back to him. Two of them were dead and the third was also missing and possibly dead as well. Kenny couldn't bear it if he lost anyone else and he knew he needed Sarita by his side, ever since Kajtaa and Duck died he had never been the same. Until Sarita came along.

_Hiding in a boarded up restaurant, the wooden barricades blocked the majority of the sunlight as the man with the long beard lay slumped in the darkest corner of the place. His eyes were vacant as he gazed blankly at nothingness, wondering why on earth he was still fighting. Why didn't he just let himself die in that alley? He wanted to die, yet for some strange reason his fists acted of their own accord as they connected with each walker's head, sending them sprawling to the ground. He kept on going, running on adrenaline taking over his system and then suddenly he wasn't in the alley anymore. He was out on the street, the walkers were approaching him but he had space._

_Space to run, and run Kenny did. He tried his hardest to find the group again, to find Clementine, Lee, Christa or Omid. But Savannah was infested with walkers and Kenny found himself fleeing from the city, his boat plan in tatters, Ben and God knows who else were dead because of it. He was alone and barely had much of a will to go on. Yet despite all the odds being stacked against him, he carried on surviving, a strange ambition of his being able to find the boat Vernon stole from his group, yet he never saw Vernon again or those cancer survivors. _

_Months later in this restaurant he was low and food and drink, maybe this was how he'd give up. Kenny was against suicide but really what was the point? Who was he surviving for now? Everyone was dead. Who was he protecting? No one. What was his purpose? Survive, but wander aimlessly like a walker. He never dreamt Sarita would come crashing into the restaurant, the Indian woman looking for a place to shelter, she froze in her tracks when she spotted Kenny's skinny form, stacked up on the wall. She lifted her gun instantly and screamed "PUT THE GUN DOWN! NO FUNNY BUSINESS OR I'LL SHOOT!" _

_Kenny didn't reply, he didn't have a gun on him. He had lost his gun a long time ago and he hadn't encountered anyone since Savannah. The sudden appearance of this woman made him look up in curiosity._

_"I... haven't got a gun" he mumbled, his voice seemingly rusty as he had not spoken to another human being in months._

_The woman lowered her gun slightly and seeing the state Kenny was in, with his saddened expression, clothes that hung loosely of him, a stale stench of waste and urine and his straggly beard. Sarita knew instantly that this man hadn't been looking after himself at all, which was surprising out of all the people she expected to encounter after months of isolation, she expected a bandit, not this. Her curiosity aroused somewhat she muttered "Um... are you okay?" in which Kenny shook his head._

_"I haven't been in a long time, look if you're hear to shoot me or loot my supplies or whatever, go ahead I ain't got much anyway" he muttered as Sarita slowly approached him._

_"I only have a few supplies myself, rather than killing why don't we trade?" she suggested as Kenny's eyes lifted slightly more, out of all the horrid people he had encountered in this world, he was surprised himself this woman had some sympathy for him._

_"That sounds good, are you by yourself?" Kenny asked, as Sarita sat by him, crinkling her nose slightly at the stench that emitted from the bearded man. She nodded her head and replied with "Yes, I've been alone since this thing started, your the first person I've encountered in months" in which Kenny carried on the conversation by adding "Me too, been with a group before. Wife, Kid, friends and all sorts, but they're all dead now" he said bitterly as Sarita's brown eyes widened._

_"You lost your family? Oh you poor man..." she said softly as Kenny merely remained silent, wondering when a gang would show up and mug or kill him. He didn't care anymore he had no fight left in him, let this woman do what she wanted to him, he didn't care. Yet Sarita continued with "I'm Sarita and you are?"_

_"Kenny" was the somewhat cold response._

_She took note of his name and blurted out "You know, you don't seem like a bad man Kenny, maybe it would better if we stayed together for a while. I know this is sudden and we have just met, but it would be easier for us both if we have each other's backs" she smiled nervously at the daring offer she had just made. Kenny didn't respond for a short while before he felt the weight of Sarita's eyes on his shoulders, he gave in and muttered "Okay then, Sarita is it?" she nodded as Kenny continued "If you want to stay together fine. I promise you I won't be a threat, more like a liability" he spat at himself._

_Sarita gulped, but she took the plunge and placed her arm around Kenny's, he recoiled instantly at her touch and pulled his arm away._

_"What are you doing?" he lashed out, as Sarita sighed, hurt somewhat but her maternal instinct awakening within her._

_"You need something to eat Kenny, you're no good like this and you need a good wash as well. and too trim that beard, any walker could grab that, it's unhygienic as well. and you need..." _

_"What are you my mother?" Kenny replied, for the first time in months a small smile playing on his face, as Sarita put her hands on her hips._

_"You're just no good to me dead" she responded, as this time Kenny allowed her too touch him and help him too his feet, he faced Sarita again and blinked as if he suddenly just realised there was a real human being in front of him, as he asked "Why are you doing this Sarita?"_

_She smiled at him, the full horrors of the apocalypse had not yet affected her as they had done to him, because her answer was still so innocent for someone surviving in this hell._

_"Sometimes doing good things, can be good for you too"_

The maternal body contact Sarita had with Kenny soon became more affectionate, climaxing with a kiss no where special, just in the middle of nowhere during a particularly cold night, two lonely people craving a purpose, craving someone to care for, to protect and they found that within each other. For those reasons that's why Kenny held onto Sarita tightly now. She felt her grip suddenly increase, as he looked down at her, she looked panicked as Kenny's eyes travelled down towards her trousers and the growing dark patch developing there...

"Oh shit" he muttered as Sarita managed to gasp "Kenny, the baby's coming... I..." she sounded scared as Kenny bellowed "REBECCA! REB...!"

"I know Kenny" Rebecca said almost instantly appearing at the doorway to the room they were in, she looked at Sarita and then back at Kenny "You could have told us Sarita was this far along, but there's no use now crying over that now. Get her upstairs and stay with her, I'll see what supplies I can find" she informed them. Kenny breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you" he said to her as she merely smiled.

Yet as Kenny dragged Sarita up the stairs, as she moaned in agony Kenny knew the harsh truth. He had done all he could in his power to get meds for him and Sarita. Both of them had done horrible things to ensure the meds would be there so Sarita could survive the childbirth and the child could be healthy. Now, despite everything they had done, they had nothing. No medical supplies at all, they were all lost back at the lake as Kenny cursed his luck.

Despite what happened he would not lose someone else.

"Sarita's going to be fine" he reassured himself.

* * *

The orange sun began to fall in the sky, Molly sighed to herself and crossed off another day in this wilderness, day after day after day it was all the same. Wake up, walk, eat, sleep. Repeat. Surviving was mundane especially when you were by yourself, but now in the company of a couple in denial and a cheery 16 year old, Molly could certainly keep herself entertained. Because for one winding up Nick was hilarious for her and two Sarah and her seemed to bond instantly and Molly liked that Sarah wasn't the usual "bad-ass" you'd be expected to come across, no it was as if she stumbled upon a real family before all this shit had started.

"The way were going now, we aren't finding shelter for the night" Stephanie piped up glumly, gazing around the endless pine trees around her.

"Ah don't worry, Nick will make sure you keep warm Stef, just remember you can have sex without taking your clothes off..."

"Really? How!?" Sarah asked innocently as Nick physically had to drag her away from the bad influence of Molly, as Molly herself laughed at Nick's furious face as he snapped "She's 16, she doesn't need to know about all this shit..."

"Um, from what I gathered Nick, it seems she's already experienced this shit and at 16 it's a perfectly normal age to know about that stuff" Molly lectured as Sarah piped up to Nick "Yeah it's okay Nick, I know about sex and everything. I'm old enough now..." Nick shook his head cutting her off as he darkly muttered "That's enough Sarah, after what happened to you I don't... I don't feel comfortable with you talking about it". This revelation made Molly chuckle in a somewhat harsh manner as she told Nick "You're not her dad"

"and you're not her mother, so don't tell me shit about how to raise her" Nick snapped back, as Molly inhaled and managed to mutter (albeit more calmly) "I get it you want to protect her and all, trust me I've been there, but... you need to understand you can't be there for her all the time..."

"Well neither can you! and yeah I know I'm not going to be around her all the time but I've taught her the basics and...!"

"The basics! Nick you've got to understand she's practically an adult now! She's not a kid anymore...!"

"You don't understand! It's not like that..." he then looked back at Sarah timidly before he whispered at Molly "She's autistic alright? So back off"

"I'm what?" Sarah asked failing to overhear the A word in Nick's hushed tone, Nick looked back at her and calmly told her "It's nothing Sarah alright? Just..."

"You haven't told her about that? If she can handle some of shit I've overheard her going through, than that's nothing in comparison it doesn't even matter..."

"Yes it does!" Nick growled beginning to seriously lose his temper.

"Yeah and you didn't help matters by beating her boyfriend to death right in front of her!" Molly snapped, as Nick shot Sarah an accusing glare and seethed "You told her about that?" as Sarah nodded shyly and faced the floor muttering to the brown leaves below her "Please stop fighting" which had absolutely no effect, as Nick ranted over to Sarah "Sarah we don't know her! We can't go telling random strangers about our life stories..."

"Hey, I'm a random stranger giving you some advice" Molly snapped as she and Nick glared openly at one another.

"You're only giving him advice because you see Sarah as a replacement for your sister. Nick's fucked up for sure but at least he tried to protect Sarah" Stephanie spoke up as she lifted a tatty old picture into the air, showing the face of Molly's long lost sister as Molly's eyes widened in shock as she ruffled her clothes and pockets, realising that by this point the silent black haired woman had somehow stolen her treasured picture of her sister.

"How did you...?"

"It doesn't matter, how did she die, huh Molly? How did you fail her?"

"Get your head out of your boyfriend's ass and give me that damn picture back..."

"Well stop trying to tell Nick how to look after Sarah then! and if you get a kick out of exposing our flaws, why don't you tell us about your own..."

"GIVE IT BACK!" Molly screeched diving at Stephanie.

Landing on the woman Molly managed to aim a punch at Stephanie's face that the brunette woman managed to avoid by a mere inch, Stephanie managed to elbow Molly in the chest, as the blond woman grunted in pain. Before she could aim another punch at Stephanie, Nick managed to pry the enraged older woman off Stephanie's form as Molly yelled at her "GIVE ME BACK THAT DAMN PHOTO!" A shaken Stephanie, extended her arm as Molly angrily tugged the photo of her lost sister from the other woman's grip and treasured it back into her pocket.

"How the hell did you know she was my sister?" she snapped at Stephanie as the younger woman replied causally "Well I figured she can't have been your daughter and seeing how you acted around Sarah... I presumed and I presumed correctly she even looks a bit like you" Stephanie replied as Molly sighed to herself and muttered sadly "Her name was Hilda" she said no more as Sarah finally broke the silence.

"I... bet your sister was really nice" she uttered as Molly gave her a small smile.

"She was"

Nick gulped and tried to calm his hot head as he asked of Molly "What happened to her?"

Molly's smile died instantly and was replaced with a harsh scowl as she snarled at Nick "It's none of your business asshole, besides we've been arguing here long enough we'll draw walkers. Let's get moving..."

"Just wanted to know something personal about you, seeing as you now probably now everything about us...!" Nick yelled after her as she stormed off in a huff. Not responding to Nick's accusation as Nick sighed and muttered "God fucking dammit, she's a handful" as he helped Stephanie to her feet he rounded on a still silent Sarah as he muttered calmly to her "Look I don't blame you Sarah just... be more careful next time to how much you tell others about us, okay?" Sarah nodded obediently, however that didn't mean she didn't have anything to say.

"You should both apologise to Molly, I don't want any more fights" she requested of them as Stephanie looked down rather disgraced with herself as she murmured "I know I went too far Sarah and I had no right to invade her privacy like that it was just...if she really did know Clem beforehand and she wants to travel with us I wanted her to tell us a bit more about herself" Stephanie reasoned before she shook her head and looked after where Molly had stormed off as Sarah decided to speak up again.

"Maybe were all as bad as each other, after all you won't two won't tell me if your boyfriend and girlfriend. and Nick... you won't let me talk about sex, even though..."

"Look Sarah I'm worried about you, okay" Nick admitted as he looked back at the spot Molly had stormed off before he continued "You don't have to speak about that sort of stuff so openly with her, I know what happened to you was traumatic and I was sorry I wasn't there to stop it, If you keep talking about it, it might bring up memories and..." Nick reasoned as Sarah's brows furrowed in frustration.

"You sound like my dad Nick, I can talk about what I want now, I'm not a baby anymore!" she yelled as she stormed off in the same direction as Molly, Nick tried to yell after her but she didn't stop to face him. A sighing Nick turned to face Stephanie and muttered "Don't storm off on me as well" in which she gave a small laugh, before he carried on "I don't like her Stef, she's gonna be a bad influence on Sarah, encouraging her to talk about that sort of stuff..."

"Well you and me joked about what happened to me concerning the whole rape thing, Maybe that's how Molly and Sarah are bonding, like we did. Different people cope in different ways Nick" her words of wisdom crashed over Nick as he mentally slapped himself, he had criticized Vitali a lifetime ago before realising he was just like him. He was criticising Molly bonding with Sarah, when he bonded with Stephanie in a similar manner. He had criticised Carlos for mollycoddling Sarah and now he was starting to become overprotective of Sarah.

"Well, then again what happened to Sarah happened weeks ago, for you it was months. I'm not saying it's any different and all... but... you had more time too... recover" Nick finished nervously upon looking upon Stephanie's pokerface, she responded to this in a somewhat cold manner "I never recovered from it Nick, I don't think I ever will" as Nick gulped and mentally slapped himself once again, was it any wonder why Stephanie always shook at night?

"God, I'm stupid, I'm sorry Stef I... fuck..." he muttered, as his blue eyes found the floor and he spat at himself "I'm worthless" as Stephanie looked at him in slight alarm realising now how easily Nick could fall back into the cycle of self loathing and self harm through a simple argument. She coughed and clicked her fingers "Hey Nick, look at me" she instructed as Nick's eyes met her's and she took him by the shoulders.

"You're not worthless okay, people screw up sometimes I do, you do, we all do. Look Sarah likes Molly and it's great they get on, but she adores you. Because everything you do, you do it too protect her" she spoke to motivate Nick, whose eyes shone for a spilt second.

"You think so?" he asked uncertainly.

"I know so" she reassured him, as he stood up tall once again and looked ahead before looking down at Stephanie once again "Thanks Stef" he mused as her smile widened. It took Nick a second to clock on that they were alone and with that he smiled and leaned in...

"HEY! ARE YOU TWO COMING ALONG OR WHAT!?" Molly snapped from some-point ahead as Nick and Stephanie groaned and broke apart. Following the irritated blonde woman and the sulky Sarah, Nick wondered if he would ever get any time alone with Stephanie in the upcoming days, as soon as they found this damn truck Molly was on about and the sooner they got to Wellington, the better. No more walkers to worry about, no need to constantly keep walking and trying to find any sort of shelter and food.

And hopefully no more causalities.

* * *

Bonnie smiled, the out of focus tree's blurring and suddenly enlarging in her vision as she skipped along, the sky was blue, then green, then pink as the multicoloured sun began to fall slowly in the sky. Wiping away a wet substance that dribbled down her lip, Bonnie continued to skip on after her intended target and that target was none other than Luke himself.

"Come on Bonnie!" he yelled.

"I'm comin' Luke!" She mused, laughing as she tripped over, getting to her feet she noticed a few growling demons trailing her. Not that she cared of course, Luke would protect her, she had no Mike anymore, No Leland. No friends either, no Wyatt, Vince, Russell, Shel or Becca, they were all dead and gone, she was all that remained out of all of them. She was all that was left, the helpless good for nothing junkie, her only help of salvation lay within the figure of Luke who she approached with a wide smile.

Luke. Maybe Mike was right, maybe a small part of her had always loved him and admired him and now that Mike was gone it was her dream to hold him again, to kiss him. To live a bizarre happily ever after with him, after everything she had lost she deserved this. So when she crashed into Luke's form she didn't let go of him, as her lips met his and they kissed, Bonnie savouring the taste of his lips on her own.

"I've been waitin' for you Bonnie" he mused, as she looked into his dark eyes and heavy eyebrows, he was so handsome and kind, everything she had ever wanted in a man. After all her failed romances this was it, this was her happily ever after. No worries, no bickering others, just her and Luke in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of these woods. Where Bonnie had longed to be free, she was here now, no more observing, no more caring and no more fighting.

She was free.

She sat by Luke, clutching onto his strong arm as he grabbed a small piece of sharp bark and engraved a marking into a nearby tree that read...

_B X L _

A love heart surrounded this engraving of her and Luke's initials, as Bonnie smiled happily and leaned on his shoulder as she muttered "I just want to stay here, I don't wanna leave Luke" as he smiled and pulled her closer as she felt herself get warmer.

"We'll stay then" he muttered as Bonnie laughed happily, as she felt her stomach swirl with butterflies.

She closed her eyes and relaxed, failing to notice the approaching demons...

* * *

Luke gasped when he Eddie and Clementine came across the site a few hours later.

The sun had set in the sky, the last rays of light illuminated the gory scene clearly, as the three wolves feasted on their meal stuffing bits of skin and guts into their parched mouths. Their sharp teeth ripping through layers of fabric, Luke was transfixed at the sight as he bellowed mournfully "Fuck! It's Bonnie!" in which Clementine felt her stomach drop.

One of the wolves was munching on half of Bonnie's head, her skull cracked as the wolf munched greedily on it. Bits of grey brain and splintered bone leaking out of her crushed head as bits of her ginger hairs lay tangled in the wolves' teeth as they continued to feast on their long awaited meal. Filling their empty stomachs full of the thick crimson blood that once ran through Bonnie's veins.

Luke vomited a mere second later, as Eddie went into some sort of shock and turned around and gasped "Don't look AJ, Jesus Christ Bonnie..." Clementine only gazed ahead in horror, looking at the limbs that had been torn from Bonnie's body, two of the wolves closest to her stripped one of her legs down to the bone, ripping off the strips of muscle as if they were slices of bacon, at the sounds of Luke's vomit splashing against the tree the trio of wolves looked up, their greedy small eyes locking themselves on Clementine.

By some means she managed to lift her pistol as they began to growl at her, she fired a single shot into the air as the trio of wolves scurried off instantly leaving a trail with their bloody footprints. Luke watched them in disbelief as he looked down at the gory shredded mess that was once Bonnie, a woman he once loved.

"I wonder if she was with anyone" Eddie managed to croak as Luke shook his head "She musta been on her own, she can't have had on gun on her... Oh God..." Luke trailed to a halt as Eddie offered him a look of sympathy, he had been cold with Luke all day as they walked on through the woods. Hearing the howls of the wolves nearby, they had proceeded upwards to see if anyone was in trouble. However they had come far too late, the wolves had claimed their first victim.

Clementine sniffed slightly, trying hard not to let her emotions overcome her and the sight of old friend ripped to shreds, Bonnie had been ripped apart by bullets the first time. And wolves the second time. Her second chance was failing, she couldn't save everyone, not forever.

As Clementine let this damming news sink onto her shoulders, Luke clenched his eyes open and crept carefully onto the bloodies scene, trying hard not to look at the single eyeball on the floor, with a bloody socket still attached behind it. Trying hard not to look at the shredded clothes, or exposed bits of pale skin, he checked if she had any supplies on her. She had nothing. She either dropped them, lost them at the lake or the wolves scattered them nearby. There was no blood trail leading up to this spot, so they must have caught her here.

"What a painful way to go" Eddie commented as Luke tried hard to hold back the growing tears, feeling his grip on reality slowly blur as the nasty shock of finding Bonnie like this, zapped away much of the confidence he once had. Gulping his eyes (for some strange reason) locked onto Bonnie's pale left arm which still lay intact (hauntingly enough) it was as pale as ever, but littered with red holes, which Luke didn't pay too much attention too. The limb lay in the dirt, it's fingers still bent at an angle as Luke's eyes travelled upwards.

It was there he saw the engraving on the tree. Past the dollops of blood plastered onto the bark, the simple message in the tree, that Bonnie had engraved into it during her last moments.

_B X L _

Clementine was asking him if he was alright, as he wiped away the tears that had flooded his eyes upon seeing the small engraving he knew what the message on the bark meant. He knew that she must have always loved him and where had he been?

_He had never been there for her._


	35. The Big Dango Family

**Okay everyone, happy Christmas! This chapter will be the last one before Christmas and I thought it would be fitting to have this chapter be the birth of a child, maybe not Jesus but Sarita's baby and I can say this chapter will cover everyone's viewpoints!**

**Now I'll answer some of the reviews here, (again not individually) but in general (I'll get back to answering reviews individually by next chapter) now for where the survivors are now... I would say in West Virginia, as (back at the Hardware store, they were near to state border) they drove the truck to North Carolina (where the cabin is located) and they have been heading north going through Virginia (where the ski lodge in the game is located) I can imagine by this point they are near to (or over) the border between Virginia and West Virginia. They have been walking onwards for weeks and the weather has been getting colder so I'm going to confirm it here that they are in West Virginia at the moment and the plan is to get through that state onwards through Ohio and then they'll hit Michigan. **

**As for my dream teams I would have to say the Motor Inn from Season 1 as they were the original survivors and I would liked to have seen more of them last longer, they were all flawed but all interesting and I agree that my favourite group from Season 2 would be the cabin survivors. Like the motor inn survivors, they were all flawed but interesting and I couldn't wait to learn more about them, however while the Motor Inn survivors got amazing arcs and fitting ends, the cabin survivors were killed off just for the hell of it. **

**Also Mike, Jane, Kenny three survivors considered "bad-ass" all end up bringing Clementine down in some way. Although it's made out the cabin survivors are the one's to do this, it's actually the opposite Pete can die saving Clem, Alvin can die saving Clem, Carlos was trying to protect Sarah and Clem when he died, Nick tried to save Luke and Sarah by getting help, Sarah in death never got Clementine injured or bitten she was just looking for help, Rebecca died trying to look after her child and stay strong and Luke died saving Clem. They all have your back, so for that reasoning it would be the cabin survivors for me. Sorry for rambling on but the cabin survivors and motor inn survivors would be my dream team.**

**and I'm sorry if you happened to be eating while reading last chapter, yeah it was pretty gruesome.**

**Anyway, happy holidays! and I hope this chapter entertains (P.S. This chapter will make a few references to the anime Clannad and Clannad: After Story, if you've watched those anime I think you know what's going to happen this chapter, as the title of this chapter also links back to the anime, which is probably the saddest but one of the best anime I've ever seen)**

* * *

"Did you ever have a family then?"

Marisol blinked she was still lay still in the truck, Nate had been talking to himself once again as the silent Spanish woman had managed to dress herself (in a plain white T- shirt and jeans) and grab a few bites to eat and get some water down her dry throat, her big brown eyes kept flickering back towards Nate nervously expecting him to protest or flare up violently again, yet the man kept his eyes on the road until night fell and the bags under his eyes grew heavier and he finally brought the truck to a halt in the middle of the road. They hadn't been speeding down the highway on the contrary they had been moving very slowly, which was a sensible thing to do considering that swarms of walkers would sometimes clog the roads and driving through them could damage Nate's truck. The man had killed the engine waited for such herds to pass before proceeding on.

This little fact struck Marisol as odd, Nate seemed like a completely reckless man to her but the fact he was willing to protect his truck was very out of character for him. Yet Marisol wondered if it had something to do with this "Russell" he kept speaking too, or this "Dennis" or "Timmy" or "Heather" those names stood out to her, figures from Nate's past. Yet she didn't enquire in fear of what he could do to her, if he saw her as nosy.

Now she was trying to silently get some sleep, she assumed Nate had done the same as he went quiet in the front seat, but his sudden question to thin air made Marisol's head perk up, was he talking to her this time? She looked over at him to find that he was indeed, she gulped before replying

"I had my parents and my sister, my boyfriend and cousins and aunts and all, we were a big family"

Nate inspected his finger, too Marisol it didn't appear as if he was listening, yet he replied with "Were?" as Marisol sadly looked at the seat below her.

"Yeah" Marisol replied solemnly, there was no need for explanation in this world, practically everybody had lost their families. Nate offered her an look impossible to read, before he blurted out the next obscure question, "So... were your family into child porn and all that?"

"Wha... no!" Marisol shouted, offended by the question as Nate grinned and muttered "Just askin' seeing how you set those guys to rape a teenager, I just wanted to know if you were like that before" he mused as Marisol rolled her eyes. She seriously regretted telling Nate's chunks of atrocities she had committed, Marisol thought he was mostly interested in "Wyatt" and "Eddie" but it seemed he payed more attention than she gave him credit for.

"Why are you bringing this up?" she snapped at him again, forgetting her earlier rule of not too upset him.

"Because I'm bored baby!" He mused in delight.

Marisol grunted and gave him the cold shoulder as he approached her, he muttered "Oh come on don't be so touchy, you can speak to me..."

"Speak to Russell or your other imaginary friends" she snapped back at him, her hot head returning to her as she remembered who she was, she took no crap. She was a leader, she was...

WHACK

...on the ground once again, with Nate's face hovering inches above her own.

"Listen here missy! Russ was my boy, he was real same with the rest of em, the way you are you can't exactly go around calling me mad...!" Nate snapped, as Marisol found her voice once again.

"YOU ARE MAD!" She screamed, unable to control herself as Nate's eyes widened, it was then she realised looking at Nate... she may not have spoken to the dead, but she was just as bad as him, so much so she mumbled "Were both mad" as Nate blinked and his green orbs focused on the Spanish woman below him once again.

"It wasn't losing Timmy and Heather that finished me, you know?" He began in a sadder, deeper tone. Maybe Nate needed someone to open up too, maybe Marisol could somehow help him as she nervously muttered "Timmy and Heather? Who were they?"

"My son and my wife" he replied back in a deadpan tone, this surprised Marisol, she never considered Nate a family man the way he went on about woman, but if that was the truth... he seemed to sense the surprise that Marisol had upon learning this news as he told her "I bet you can't believe it, bet you think I'm lying" yet Marisol knew this was the truth as she managed to say back "You know, you would ever believe me If I said I went to church every Sunday? That I was a devote catholic? That me and my boyfriend waited a full year before we had sex, because we wanted to take thing slow?" she asked of him as he burst into fits of laughter, for some strange reason Marisol laughed as well.

"I wouldn't believe a fucking word you just said, had I not been the same before all this shit..." Nate gasped, before he managed to calm himself down before he muttered "Losing Dennis, that broke me, he always made sure I was fine and that was coping after my family bit the bullet than the fuckin' idiot Eddie just goes and shoots him. I lost it, I only wanted revenge and I still do, it's the only way to make things right don't ya think?" he asked of Marsiol as the image of Anne lying dead flashed in mind and then of the crying teenager on the floor, that was her revenge.

It didn't feel all too good.

"Maybe, maybe not" she replied as Nate continued to stare at her, before he sighed, placing his hands on his head he clenched his eyes shut and violently shook his head, as if trying to bat off a demon in his brain.

_"Help me"_ he croaked.

* * *

"I'll take first guard"

"You sure?"

"Yeah" Molly replied dryly to Stephanie as both women looked out into the black night. They were close to the road so Molly confirmed (earlier that day) that they had reached West Virginia through a few sings on the road (aided by a worn old map she had with her) so they were getting that one step closer to Wellington.

"Molly look, I'm sorry about earlier... I shouldn't have" Stephanie began apologising for her earlier actions, as Molly shook her head and smiled, obviously she had calmed down since the incident earlier today as she told Stephanie "It's fine. Besides I have to applaud you in a strange way, the fact you're a klepto may come in handy..."

Stephanie's eyes widened as she gasped "How did you...?"

Molly only smiled and held up a photo, it was taken back at the Hardware store and it showed Nick and Stephanie smiling at the camera. Stephanie always liked that photo and kept it close to her, seeing it in another person's hands. She turned beet red before (rather than charging at it) she realised what Molly was getting at.

"You're a klemo too aren't you?" Stephanie concluded as Molly nodded, a small smile playing on her face.

"First it's Klepto, don't know where you got Klemo but I won't judge and secondly ain't nothin to be ashamed of, hell in the world today it's a handy little disorder to have" she muttered while casually flicking through more photos taken at the Hardware store she must have stolen from Nick and Sarah when they weren't looking, Stephanie didn't stop her as Molly's eyes washed over Clementine's image as she smiled and muttered "She still has the hat then and the same hairstyle" she store at the photo for a while before she lowered it and looked back at Stephanie.

"You haven't told anyone that you're a Klepto, have you?"

"I told Nick, his the only one who knows" Stephanie replied as Molly grinned from ear to ear, Stephanie smiled to herself and looked over at Molly "Look, I know what you might think, but he is a just a friend..."

Molly cut her off as she spoke up "That's bullshit Stef, look me and Sarah aren't exactly going to rip you two apart and I think he needs you, his so damn overprotective of Sarah, if something happens to her then he'll lose it, but you need to be there for him. To keep him stable I know might call him an asshole every time the opportunity arises but I know his okay guy" Molly lectured as Stephanie found herself turning pink as Molly added "Don't tell him I told you this" as Stephanie nodded.

"And what happens if he loses both of us? Would you stay with him, or would you leave?" Stephanie asked of Molly, whose reply was instant.

"I'd leave"

She said no more as Stephanie accepted this information, she slowly started to walk away before she turned back to the blonde woman who stood against a tree overlooking the road.

"Molly?"

"Huh?" she grunted.

Stephanie chucked Molly's pickaxe back at her as Molly caught it in surprise, but she laughed and shouted over to Stephanie "You're good at this!"

Stephanie grinned "Would Hilda want you to be alone Molly?" she asked, as she had read the name scribbled onto the handle of the pick axe. Molly's eyes seemed to soften at the mention of the name of her deceased sister, as she murmured sadly "Hilda is the reason I'm alone" and after this she said no more as Stephanie walked on next to Nick's sleeping bag and Molly continued to stare into the darkness. Keeping her ears peeled for any indication of approaching danger.

Nick himself had been dozing peacefully when he felt some sort of pressure dig into his back,his eyes fluttered open as he felt the form of a woman slide into his sleeping bag. He turned over to find Stephanie smiling shyly at him, he ran a hand through his messy black hairs and muttered groggily to her "What you doing Stef?" her lips moved but no sound came out as Nick leaned in closer, until his ears were warmed by her breath as she whispered "You know what I'm doing" as Nick suddenly became alert as he glanced around him. Sarah was fast asleep, curled up in her sleeping bag and Molly was just out of sight, now he and Stephanie were truly alone.

"A-are you sure about this?" he asked nervously, not for himself but for Stephanie who he noticed was shaking once again, she smiled up at him and pressed herself closer to his form, as Nick felt himself go stiff, he crossed his legs over themselves (too not make his sign of arousal so obvious) as he managed to ask again "After what happened with Stan, Stef we don't have to kiss or anything like that, not if you don't want too" he muttered as he waited for Stephanie to reply as her mouth finally opened "You know you're right Nick, I don't want to kiss guys, it's the last thing I would want to do in the world. But ironically enough, the thing I want to do most in the world right now is kiss you" upon this statement her hands cupped the sides of Nick's face as she pulled herself towards him.

They were both nervous, but Nick finally steeled whatever inner courage he had and kissed Stephanie deeply.

The two of them stayed like that for a while, Nick felt his heartbeat slow down, as a layer of sweat began to coat his face he felt Stephanie's arm explore his face and back, he was nervous to move his own hands to far down Stephanie's back (in fear of being slapped by her, or trigging a bad memory for her) Stephanie herself was just as nervous as she constantly asked herself "Does it like it? Am I good kisser?" when they finally broke apart (panting slightly) they simply gazed at each other, inspecting each other's faces as Nick mouth finally twisted into that of a heart-warming smile.

"That was nice" he muttered.

"Yeah" Stephanie agreed, before she gulped and muttered "Was it any good Nick? I didn't ruin it for you did I? You were okay with me..."

"Stef" Nick cut in.

"Yeah"

"Shut up" he mused as he leaned in to kiss her again.

* * *

_"CLEMENTINE! CLEMENTINE STAY DOWN DAMMIT!" _

_"SHE'S GONNA DIE IF WE DON'T STOP THE BLEEDING, SHE'S REOPENED HER WOUND! _

_Clementine looked around, she was back in the cave again. The cave from her very first dream, blood coated her cheeks as she had rubbed it on. Why had she rubbed it on again? Why couldn't she remember much? Who were the two black figures in her blurry vision?_

_They weren't cultists were they? Clementine had seen enough of Cultists especially after..._

_She gasped as she remembered everything, it hit her like a ton of bricks as..." _

"WAAAAHHHH!"

Clementine eyes snapped open as she muttered an angry curse she remembered the dream this time, she was in a cave, two figures were above her and then... "Damn it I can't remember the rest" she muttered to herself as she looked over to see that AJ was crying once again as Eddie tried to soothe the agitated infant, his brown eyes met Clementine's. "Sorry he woke you up, kid must be having teething pains" he explained as Alvin wailed again. Running out of options Eddie resorted on letting AJ chew on his (hastily wiped) finger as AJ seemed to calm down slightly, his green eyes became locked on the leafy canopy above him.

"His getting bigger, according to Rebecca he turned 1 a few weeks ago. It's a shame we didn't get a small birthday party" he muttered as Clementine nodded her head and looked around the forest, looking for wherever Luke was.

"I never knew Bonnie's birthday" Eddie mumbled bringing Clementine's eyes back too him, as the bearded man looked up at her "It's strange isn't it? I thought I knew her so well, but when they die you realise there's so much more you should have said or asked them. So many opportunities you realise you miss" he muttered as Clementine simply nodded.

"I know" the 12 year old said quietly as she looked around and finally asked "Eddie, where's Luke?"

Eddie looked around himself before answering Clementine "I dunno Clem, said he went down to the stream to go and get water but his been gone for hours" Eddie said as Clementine sprang up, somewhat alarmed "I'm going to go look for him, stay here and guard our stuff!" she instructed of Eddie, who kept his head low as AJ continued to nibble on his finger.

"Sure thing, don't go off to far" he warned, although he knew the 12 year old could look after herself just fine.

Clementine was expecting something dramatic, she expected to find something horrible, she didn't expect to find Luke after running for less than a minute, he was crouched by an gushing stream, sat with his legs apart, his back was bent over and he didn't seem to move, nervously she called out "Luke..." in which he suddenly seemed to spring to life. He fumbled with his trousers for a second before he managed to turn his head towards Clementine, he wasn't crying but his eyes were still red.

"Hey" Clementine muttered taking a seat next to him, as he sniffed from next to her.

"Hey, you okay?" Luke asked of her as Clementine looked at her own reflection in the broken water of the stream, she didn't reply as Luke muttered emptily "I was just... um..." he wanted to use the words _relieving stress _but he had a feeling Clementine would catch onto what he was doing, she was smart enough. So he trailed to a halt and kept silent before he muttered again "I, miss her already Clem, it was all my fault if I hand't thought about that stupid lake idea than we mighta still been together" he sighed before he muttered

_"I just thought I was doing what was best, but I had to do something differently, otherwise Vince would have killed us all..."_

"What?" Clementine asked, something about that sentence sent a shiver up her spine and reminded her vividly of her dream, Luke shrugged her off with a "It's nothin' Clem I'm just feeling sorry for myself, I made a bad choice and now people are dead, I mean what I have done that's right?" he criticized himself as Clementine flashed him a small smile. "You saved me, I'm still alive. You have done something right" she encouraged him as Luke managed to muster a small smile.

"Thanks Clem" he muttered as they simply continued to stare out into the black night, as Luke finally said "It's crappy isn't it Clem? Bonnie loved me I treat her like dirt, I don't even acknowledge her I was so busy thinkin' about Jane that I didn't even notice she was there until she was gone" his confession of survivor's guilt is something Clementine experienced, thinking of her parents, who were already long gone and failing to acknowledge Lee who was there with her. She felt the tears fall, she was given a second chance! She should have valued the others' lives more than she did, she should have saved Bonnie! Luke pulled her to his chest, he didn't need to mutter any words, his hug was enough as Clementine sobbed "I'm no good Luke, things weren't meant to turn out like this!" as he tried to shush her.

"Hey come on Clem, don't be so hard on yourself, hey come on look at this" Luke said pointing upwards as Clementine wiped the tears away, Luke was pointing at a single star, brighter than the others that surrounded it, as Clementine hazel iris' locked upon the bright thing as Luke muttered "See that Clem, that's the north star. We follow that it will take us north, so if we lose our maps we can always rely on mother nature..."

"What's this got to do with anything Luke?" Clementine asked him, as he looked down at her.

"It ain't, I'm trying to make you forget Clem. You've been having nightmares, I've heard you, tossing and turning in your sleep I didn't want to bring them up with you because I thought you'd shrug them off Clem. But I want you too know that if anything is bothering you, then you can talk to me..."

Clementine would have instantly cut him off with "I'm fine, really I mean everyone has nightmares, right?" but she couldn't muster herself to say it, she realised she was ready to open up even further to Luke, by telling him "They're weird dreams Luke" she admitted as Luke listened in instantly not expecting to get such an honest reply, as Clementine continued "I'm always in a cave, I'm surrounded by people I think... but when you have a dream it's always something you've seen before, or something bad you've seen, but with these dreams it's always the same one. It's as if..." she paused there before she chose her next words very carefully.

_"It's as if I can see what's going to happen"_

Those words were the closest Clementine had ever come to admitting her second chance to anyone, no one would believe her if she told them now. But Luke remained silent for a little bit too long than what was natural, it was as if he was having some inner debate before he finally muttered

"That... is kinda creepy Clem, (after these words his voice became lighter as he continued) "but it ain't real Clem, just remember that and Remember me and Eddie are around, like I proved back at the lake I ain't gonna let anything or anyone hurt you. Understood?" he told her as Clementine nodded.

* * *

The dango that were spread across the wooden floors of the old house had many different faces.

An dango with drawn on wrinkles had squinty eyes, a plump red dango had eyelashes and a small smile on her face, a blue dango next to it had heavy eyebrows but a small smile played on his face, as both the red Dango and the blue Dango looked down at a small white dango who had big black eyes, coloured in cheeks and a happy smile playing on it's face, surrounding this core family were hundreds of other dango's all with drawn on faces, ranging from happy to sad, to confused, to angry, to any other expression that could be thought off.

All of them, they all had a face, they all had a colour, they were all together.

The Big Dango Family.

Rebecca herself couldn't find any supplies as her hands cut through the old pieces of Dango, acknowledging that the girl in the basement who had the marker pen probably played with these bits of food as toys. It made Rebecca sad to see so many of them gathered up all in one place, they were so many of them and they were all so different. Without any success in finding anything of use in this room she walked out and nearly tripped on a few lonely pieces of dango lying in the corridor.

She looked down at them, a lone red dango with a frown on it's face was her, she was outside the main room where all the rest of the dango were together and happy. She was still alive, she wasn't in the room with all the other dango, with all the others who had reunited in a better place than simply being left to be stomped on in the corridor.

With a sigh Rebecca proceeded back towards the room where Sarita screamed from, her face was drenched with sweat, her legs were spread apart as Rebecca peered into the space between them, seeing the small bump of the baby's head poking out.

"His coming out Sarita! Just a few more pushes!" Rebecca shouted, as Sarita groaned, and threw her head back, panting at Kenny "I-can't Kenny... I can't... do this..." as Kenny held on tighter to her hand which was locked around his own as she squeezed tighter and muttered softly at her "It's alright Sarita, it's alright just a few more pushes and it will be all over" he encouraged her, but this was a different story to what was going on in Kenny's head. White, hot panic soared through his veins, this labour had been going on all night and Sarita had lost so much blood...

"REBECCA SHE CAN'T TAKE MUCH MORE OF THIS! SHE NEEDS MEDS NOW!" He roared, desperate to find some painkillers, or some more bandages he had already used his old one's that he once had draped around his eye to try and stop the bleeding. But the soggy bandages had proved no good as blood continued to pour through them. Now all Kenny had was Sarita's old bandages that she used to wrap around her stump as a back-up. Despite Rebecca's warnings not to use those bandages Kenny was desperate to save Sarita, so he'd be willing to do anything to save her.

"REBECCA GET MEDS!" Kenny roared at the curly haired woman in anger, the only supplies she had found were a metal tub that she filled with some of the remaining water the group had, it wasn't freezing water, but it wasn't ideal either. Other than that Rebecca had found nothing, no meds, no bandages, not even a blanket or pillows for Sarita to crop herself up on. So Kenny had removed almost all of his clothing to try and make a make-shift pillow for Sarita (and extra bandages if need be).

"I'VE LOOKED KENNY, THERE'S NOTHING OUT THERE!" She screamed back at him, as he was about to roar a response before she gasped "OH MY GOD! SARITA THE BABY'S COMING OUT! ONE MORE PUSH AND...!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Sarita's cry almost tore her vocal chords apart, as she threw her head back in agony, the baby squeezed itself from her body and landed into Rebecca's outstretched hands, as Rebecca instantly used a knife she had on her, to cut the umbilical cord, she was up in an instant as she dunked the squealing infant into the water wiping the layers of blood off the child.

Kenny was also instantly to work, using every bit of bandages and clothing he had to try and cover where Sarita bled, he tried applying pressure to the spot to stop the heavy bleeding, his bare chest and arms were drenched in Sarita's blood, the new found father knew these supplies weren't enough to stop the bleeding, he had covered the wounds up but the blood was already seeping through the layers of clothing, pretending not too notice this Kenny instantly checked on Sarita, who now looked very pale.

"It's alright hon, look! You did it! There's our child right there!" he pointed at where Rebecca held onto the red skinned infant as Rebecca looked at the child and happily muttered "Congratulations it's a girl" as Sarita lifted her weak arms and held the child in her arms as a few tears fell from her eyes, as she blinked at the infant who managed to calm herself down, as she opened her eyes a fraction and Sarita laughed as she gazed into her daughter's blue eyes.

"She's beautiful" Sarita sobbed, as Kenny joined in on the waterworks as he held his new daughter in his arms, he was expecting a son so now he had a daughter, his mind was blank on what to call her. What had he agreed on?

"Lilly" Sarita croaked out, as Kenny looked down at her in surprise as Sarita muttered "I always like that name... and Lilly... deserves to be honoured... for saving our lives, our baby girl wouldn't be here without that woman" Sarita reasoned, Kenny finally swallowed whatever sort of pride he had left, as he accepted the name with a gracious smile and muttered "Lilly, we'll call it Lilly then" he sobbed as Sarita smiled weakly at him, her eyelids beginning to droop as Kenny looked on helplessly as he placed the child towards her and muttered "Sarita! Sarita look! She has your nose alright, she looks a lot like you" he mused happily through his tears as Sarita coughed as she laughed weakly.

"Indeed she does, I'm... happy" she muttered as she began to slip away as Kenny shook her and bellowed "SARITA!" as the Indian woman opened her eyes once again, "Please... you made a promise" he wept as Sarita smiled at where the man she loved held onto her daughter, as he began to talk on "We'll raise Lilly here together, we'll go to Wellington just as we planned. We'll be a big family Sarita! We'll all be a big family! We can take her to school, watch her grow up, watch me kick her first boyfriend's ass, you can count on it! We'll all be there to make our little girl happy" he reasoned as Sarita's weak hand rested in Kenny's stronger one.

"I love you Kenny"

and then her hand went limp falling to the floor opposite her, as Kenny shook her again "Hey Sarita! Come on Sarita our little girl needs you, you're not going to leave me like this? You can't leave me helpless me with her, she needs her mummy... she..." he paused there, Sarita's fingers were cold, she didn't breathe anymore as Kenny's tears fell at a faster rate as the truth hit him, his very worst fear had come to life.

"SARITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! He screamed in grief as he wept his very soul out.

Lilly began to cry again as she rested on her father's chest, as Kenny himself wept into Sarita's chest. Rebecca who had watched the scene sadly raised a nearby gun, they were nearly out of ammo, but she had at least one bullet on her, enough to do the job. A tear fell from Rebecca's eye as she fired.

BANG

Sarita was now truly dead, Kenny had done everything in his power to save her, to get the meds she had needed to survive the birth.

He had failed.


	36. More Hope?

**A/N: Hope everyone had a happy Christmas! Okay I've been a bit busy with the holidays but I'm back and ready to update! Hope you all have a happy new year!**

**Sailent Spring- Yes, may the moustache gods have mercy on Kenny and something funny happened with the copy and paste feature and I couldn't get the links to the tracks you sent, but I'm sure they fit the said scenes perfectly**

**BlackGalaxyStars- Glad to see you back! Don't worry about not reviewing I know how busy life can get at times, however I'm glad you're enjoying the story and I'm looking forward to hearing reviews from you in future**

**Transformers g1's-prime- Thank you! 500 reviews WOO! My life is complete and this is now the third most reviewed story on the site and I'm honestly astonished by it's success, because when I read my chapters back I always facepalm myself when I spot a spelling or grammar mistake and I know I've read stories on here that have much less grammar mistakes and are better written than mine. So I don't know what it is about this story that makes it a success (I know people have told me with positive feedback, but as the author itself I'm always critical of my work) but I hope I continue to entertain you guys**

**Upset Person- Sorry about Sarita, but the motto of the walking dead is... No One Is Safe**

**Catz Rule- That's fine, I appericate your reviews for the story and your support for it and thank you I had a very merry Christmas **

**AquaDestinysEmbrace- Liking your little song in your review and the latest chapters of Bad Things Will Always Happen, can't wait to read more!**

**ffapathy- Thank you for another great review on the characters and situations, I'm glad in the end I got you too feel sorry for Sarita, originally I was going to pull a "Lori" on her, having Rebecca cut her open so the baby could live, but that felt to self sacrifice-y and repetitive to the TV show, I thought having her die because there was a lack of meds to help her would be more tragic and as prove that Kenny's and Sarita's reason for murder by training to gain meds could be justified somewhat by seeing what happened if they didn't have meds. **

**Chameishida- Glad you ntoiced the whole "time travel" thing, I'd keep a close eye on Luke as well, that's all I'm saying on the matter, but I have big plans emerging for him.**

**Kristal Dynamite- Thanks another fantastic review, sorry if I left you scared of Dango's I can imagine you'll never look at them in the same way again and yep the Nick-Stef ship has set sail indeed and I'm looking forward to writing them as a couple.**

**A Writer With Mixed Interests- Glad you agree with me on the cabin group and expect to see more of the remaining 4 members as the story goes on. **

**and thanks to everyone else who reviewed and read the chapters so far! and now on with the story...**

* * *

Nick half expected to be awoken by a snide remark from Molly about how him and Stephanie were cuddled up so close together in their sleeping bags, or an excited squeal from Sarah. Surely the pair were smart enough to realise that him and Stephanie had been kissing last night and were officially an item, but Nick didn't hear a peep out of either of them which made him suspicious. He awoke and shook Stephanie's form from his chest, as he rose up in his sleeping bag and stretched.

He looked back down at Stephanie as she grasped at the empty sleeping bag with her outstretched hand and mumbled his name in her slumber, Nick smiled down at her, as the weak morning sunlight highlighted her petite face, as she slept peacefully with a small smirk on her face.

"God, she's beautiful" Nick thought to himself, realising only then that he was staring, snapping out of it he proceeded to see what Sarah and Molly were doing, he found the pair of them packing their sleeping bags with their heads bent down.

"Mornin'" he grumbled.

"Good morning Nick" Sarah replied cheerfully as ever, yet her eyes didn't avert up to him which Nick found slightly odd, as he coughed to break through the unusual silence in this odd four piece group "You two have gone quiet" Nick observed openly in which Molly and Sarah finally both seemed to look up, they smiled at Nick.

"Um... just tired that's all" Molly reasoned, still smiling.

"What's gotten into you?" Nick inquired of her, rather intrigued by their strange behaviour, he noticed then that Sarah was holding her mouth over her mouth as she began to giggle uncontrollably "Control yourself" Molly quickly whispered at the teenager, who seemed unable too, as Nick felt a stab of annoyance hit his gut at Sarah's laughing as she looked back at him and then laughed harder... "Hey... what's so funny!" The hot headed man demanded to know, as Molly began to chuckle slightly.

"Oh nothing..." Molly said, but her eyes rolled away from Nick as she also started chuckling.

"What? What did you see, what is it?" Nick asked feeling defensive as Stephanie walked up to Nick, wiping her eyes she was half way through her "Good mor..." but she stopped, stared at Nick, her blue eyes seemingly popping out of her head as her face went pink in embarrassment as she groaned "Oh God..." and buried her face in her hands. "What's a matter!" Nick asked of them all, finally seeming to realise that they were laughing because something was up with his appearance, he looked into a dirty pond.

To see the words **LOST VIRGINITY TO STEF!** drawn onto his face, the letters all big and bold, the LOST dominating his forehead and the second word scribbled all over his nose and cheeks, and the last two words were plastered in small characters onto his stubble and chin. The raven haired man, glared openly at Molly who collapsed in fits of laughter as Sarah followed suite. Now Nick knew why they were so quiet, they had already seen him and Stephanie kissing no doubt and had made their opinion on the matter very clear.

"Did you... erm...?" Stephanie was too embarrassed to say the rest, as Molly merely nodded.

"You can't pull bullshit on me now Stef, I'm going to have a lot of fun with you guys" Molly mused, as Nick groaned aloud.

* * *

Eddie gulped, there had always been warnings beforehand always places he could go, he could get AJ ready save him from all their impending dooms but this time it was too late there was no place to run and there was no place to hide.

Today it ended, Eddie noticed it first, the stench of death was thick in the cold air as Eddie stopped, his heart racing as he looked down at AJ before nervously looking up at Luke and Clementine.

"Guys" he called out.

It was too late, the angel of death hit Luke first as he wheezed and fell to the floor, Clementine was next to fall to the floor, both were gone as Eddie was left alone to place AJ on a rock as he gulped, swaying on the spot. Sweat dripping down his forehead as he glanced behind him and then back at AJ.

Luke and Clementine (by some means) managed to stand up once again and dragged themselves over to where Eddie was standing, the trio of them looked down at AJ, Clementine had tears streaming from her eyes as she glanced down at the blank eyed infant. Their time was up, Luke used his arm to cover his face as he finally grunted "Jesus... Christ... How?"

Eddie had no answer he shakily prepared his hands, as Luke continued...

"how... does one child shit like that!?"

There was no logical answer, AJ grinned up at the three forsaken older people in his group seeing as he didn't have a nappy anymore Eddie always knew when the infant had blown off and could sit him down on the forest floor to release whatever was in his system and AJ always tended to cry before he needed to pee, so Eddie always made sure the infant didn't stain his bundles, he tried to get AJ to stand up and upon hearing Eddie mutter the word "Pee" the child would happily obey the bearded man. Peeing on the spot and then laughing at Eddie afterwards.

"It's like our little code, huh?" he asked of the infant, who babbled a reply as Eddie pretended to nod his head at an intellectual comment as he mused "Yes, just I was thinking to Sir Alvin, yes..." he only stopped there when he found Clementine staring at him as if he had lost his mind completely.

All points aside however AJ had never dirtied his blankets, so now the group were faced with a dilemma worse than death.

Changing AJ's blankets and cleaning the child's buttocks.

"Erm... so Luke you're a master at pulling woman, surely you must have a child out there you didn't have planned..."

"What are you suggesting? I've never had a kid. I'm not good with babies" Luke spat out in defence almost instantly as Eddie merely planted his hands on his hips and tutted "Luke, Luke, surely you had a little sister..."

"No"

"Baby cousin..."

"No"

"Oh come on! Past girlfriends ever had a baby sibling, or even a cousin with a distant sibling or...?"

"Eddie! Stop tryin' to drag me into this! I don't know shit about changing diapers or anything like that, just... I dunno use a leaf or something".

And so Eddie gathered the crisp autumn leaves as make-shift wipes to use, as he coughed assuming that gathering the leaves was all his part of the job done a slightly uncomfortable AJ (covered in filth and lying on an uncomfortable rock) began to wail as Luke muttered "Shit Eddie! The kid will draw walkers, just wipe his damn butt!"

"Dude I can't clean my socks! Let alone... do this" he finished lamely.

"You can save AJ's life! But you can't wipe his butt!" Luke reasoned as Eddie merely shrugged.

"Luke. I've done my bit, now it's time to do your bit and take one for the team" he offered as he handed Luke the dried leaves who pushed them away, as Clementine rolled her eyes and muttered "Boys" under her breath. Eddie's eyes brightened when he realised the mature 12 year old was present.

"Actually we need a woman, Clementine..."

"No" she responded instantly.

"Oh come on! Clementine you're gonna have to learn to become a mommy one day, you might as well start learning now" Was Eddie excuse as Clementine merely glared back at him, Luke (seeing a way out of his fate) turned on Clementine as well "Clem, maybe... you know maybe you could..."

Clementine scoffed and crossed her arms together, "You two are just being lazy, I'm just a little kid" she pleaded as Eddie laughed.

"Don't go using that on us Clem, soon you'll be a woman. Hell you're 12, you're going get a woman's body soon and have your first period and all..."

"How that's going change anything!?" Clementine snapped, as Eddie muttered over to Luke "See, already were dealing with the mood swings" as Luke and him gruffly laughed among each other, as Clementine kept her glare trained on them as she groaned "You're like 6 year olds, I might as well wipe your asses for you too..."

"It's not easy being Male and being so naturally useless, unlike you domesticated, lovely females..." Eddie began, singing praises about Clementine as she merely cut him off with a curt "Stop trying Eddie it's not going to work" as Eddie once again faced AJ and moaned "God, I wish Bonnie was here..."

He realised he made a mistake as Luke's head bent down in sorrow, sensing his sorrow he quickly ushered out "Shit, sorry Luke I didn't mean too bring up..." yet Luke cut him off as he muttered "It's fine. Hell I wish Bonnie was here too. Or Rebecca, or Sarita we need some women with us for this task" he summarised as Eddie nodded in agreement, thankful that Luke wasn't arguing with him again as he faced AJ and slid the blankets off the wailing infant, his nose scrunched up and he looked back at Luke in horror.

"I can't do this" he panted as Luke gently patted Eddie on the shoulder.

"You can, Wyatt would be proud" Luke reminded him, as Eddie smiled a single tear falling from his eye as he looked up to the sky, remembering his lost friend as he steeled his inner courage as his hand slowly (and dramatically) reached down towards AJ, the leaf was at the ready...

"Just wipe it already" Clementine wearily demanded of Eddie.

and so he did.

* * *

"It's over" Luke muttered.

Luke, Clementine and Eddie stood around the spot where the leaves (stained dark brown) lay in the similar coloured dirt, Alvin's new blankets had been wrapped around him by Clementine herself as she managed to calm down the wailing infant before handing him over to Eddie, who mournfully gazed at his stinking hands. None of Alvin's poop had got on them, but they still stank.

"We survived, thank God" Eddie breathed as Clementine merely muttered "You were only cleaning up manure" as Luke looked at her oddly as she fixed him back with an unblinking stare "What? Lee used to call it manure it's more polite than the alternative" she reasoned. Luke nodded simply at her logic as Eddie held AJ in his arms and thundered "Alright kid, no more... manure. If any more manure squeezes itself from out of your little butt cheeks, I swear to God I will make sure you don't do it again" Eddie finished, even AJ laughed at his threat in a mischievous manner. It was as if the one year old infant already had plans for his next great big evil dump. Luke and Clementine were chuckling at Eddie's phrasing as the small group decided to keep moving on north.

"Squeeze from your little butt cheeks huh..." Luke asked walking up to Eddie, as Eddie scathed his growing black hairs as he muttered "Yeah, weird phrasing but first thing that came to mind" he replied as Luke giggled again and spoke back to Eddie "You're weird as shit Eddie, but hell I guess we all are now" he finished sombrely, Eddie (not wanting to let the mood get too sour) decided to abruptly change the topic as he piped up "Well, I guess we are all grieving and shit. My beard is going to be a foot long after this..."

"Don't say that, mine's already growing outta control" Luke muttered, poking at his growing facial hair, the "pathetic piece of bum-fluff" as Nick and Clementine had cruelly labelled it back in Howe's had grown much longer, hairs crept up the sides of Luke's face and a small but steady brown-ish coloured beard was making it's mark on Luke's face. Eddie had always kept his black beard in tack, trimming it occasionally but never fully shaving it (same with Wyatt, they used to boast about it too the other male's in the store) yet the memory of the beards only brought back memories of Wyatt as Eddie sighed.

"Look Eddie, If I just... I dunno Killed Vince on the lake in the first place, or not even gone to lake at all..." Luke began, judging by Eddie's saddened face that he was thinking about his lost friend. Eddie always tried to keep spirits high, but the joke always ran dry in the end, or reminded him of all they had lost since leaving Howe's. His big brown eyes lifted at Luke's words as he mumbled sadly "You know technically speaking this is my fault, if I hadn't have shot at Vitali in the first place... they wouldn't have got shot. Stef wouldn't have tried to leave, we'd have never been left on the road and been sucked into all this"

"This ain't your fault Eddie, everyone whose died, you... you tryin' to protect Nick, tryin' to protect my best friend..." Luke reasoned as Eddie shook his head.

"That's what Vince said he was doing for the group, trying to protect us"

"Vince was mad, he was doing it for himself. I saw that when I looked at him... I saw Carver all over again and I knew... whoever he once was, that man was lone gone..." Luke looked back at Eddie as he concluded "I don't see the same when I look at you Eddie, I just see a guy who screwed up, like me, like Nick, don't go blaming yourself" Luke said as Eddie merely muttered (despite Luke's motivation) "Luke, I just... I feel useless I just wish I could do something right for once!" he stressed.

"Well I know that, you wouldn't be carrying that child if you were a complete failure" Luke acknowledged as Eddie looked down at the child, it hit him maybe he was already doing good by sticking by the child and maybe more so he would continue to protect the little guy and fulfil his promise to Rebecca. Even if the mother was dead, it was the only redemption he thought he had.

"Thanks" he muttered at Luke, as the young man smiled back at him, Eddie knew his "Thanks" was general for everything Luke had done from dealing with being a stressed out leader, to being falsely accused of rape, to surviving his injuries and still going strong. Eddie doubted he was made from the same stuff as Luke but he had to try.

"Look out there are socks ahead" Clementine joked in a monotone voice, joining the conversation as Luke scooped up the young girl on his back, it was then Eddie noticed something, something he couldn't help but smile at. Luke really did love his little sister figure of Clementine, she was the sole source that was keeping him sane, seeing them joke amongst each other (and for once not having to cheer everyone up himself) was a relaxing scene for Eddie.

"Challenge two, cleaning the socks. A game for boys only" Clementine announced as Luke counter-attacked.

"Challenge two, dealing with your period and mood swings. A game for girls only"

"Luke?" Clementine asked in genuine curiosity.

"Yeah"

"What happens when you have your period?"

Luke placed his fingers on his lips, generally clueless as to what to say. Clementine was mature and all but how did he explain female behaviour to her? He hadn't grown up having a period, he truly needed a woman to help him now...

It was as if God had answered his prayers when Sarah suddenly burst through a nearby bush and screamed "CLEMENTINE, LUKE!?"

"S-sarah!" Clementine gasped back, for a whole two seconds they simply store at one another, until Clementine jumped down from where she was on Luke's shoulders and went up to hug her friend as she cheered, just as Nick ran onto the scene.

"SARAH! GET BACK HERE! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU HEARD, IT MIGHT NOT BE CLEM AND LU...!" He suddenly found himself face to face with his best friend, his exclamation died on his tongue, as Luke and Nick gazed at each other before they both started laughing uncontrollably as Luke pulled his black haired friend into a hug as he muttered "Is this real?"

"I don't know" Nick mumbled into Luke's shoulder.

It seemed to be validated real when Stephanie's form burst onto the scene as well, running after Nick, seeing the sudden burst of familiar and friendly faces she exclaimed "Oh thank God!" as she announced her relief at finding the others, going to a lonely looking Eddie with AJ, who was glad to see her as another blonde woman causally walked onto the scene, muttering "Yo" and holding up the peace symbol with her fingers, she looked around as Sarah told Clementine "Clem! We found Molly! You know that woman you were on about from Savannah! We found her!" she gasped at a million miles an hour, as Clementine found herself pushed towards the random blond woman.

Sarah stayed silent in anticipation as Molly and Clementine gazed at one another. For a few seconds Clementine didn't know who this stranger was, but then she opened her mouth and muttered "Hey Kid, it's a been while" and Clementine instantly recognised Molly's tone and connected the dots in her head. This (along with Sarah's statement) made her stutter "M-molly!" in wild disbelief as the blonde woman merely smiled at her, as Clementine felt herself crash into Molly as she hugged another old friend returned to her.

"Um... yeah nice to... see you too" Molly said somewhat awkwardly but with warmth interlaced in her voice as she patted Clementine on the back. The 12 year old looked away and blinked, no Molly was still there. First Lilly, then Christa now Molly? Who was next? She couldn't believe this, it was too surreal to have the others turn up suddenly let alone have another piece of her past with her.

"Wait, who are you?" Luke asked finally cutting through the friendly chatter, gazing suspiciously at Molly, as Clementine broke away from her.

"Oh just a friend, a passing stranger, your wife... wait what?" Molly answered jokingly as Clementine decided to answer to a confused looking Luke, "It's okay Luke, she's Molly she's an old friend" as Molly beamed at the 12 year old.

"Yeah Luke, I've been here since the start" Molly muttered picking up on Luke's name, as Nick and Stephanie picked up on the joke "Yeah Luke, she was with us back at the Hardware store, what's a matter with you. She's your wife remember?" Nick added as Luke blinked and asked of him "Okay, what's really going on?"

"Dude she's your wife, how could you forget, we all know Molly" Eddie chipped in, sharing a knowing glance with Molly. Eddie and Molly two complete strangers had bonded instantly over a small joke, that Eddie had quickly picked up on.

"Yeah we all know Molly, Luke" Sarah chipped in.

"Yeah, how could you forgot the most important woman in your life?" Stephanie asked of him, as he shouted "OH MY GOD! I HAVE NO IDEA WHO THIS WOMAN THIS...!" as Molly merely tutted and muttered "It's okay his like this when our anniversary comes up..."

"What anniversary!?"

"Well come on then, my other half will draw every walker in the state to us. Come on we need to keep on going, we need to make sure the plan to get to Wellington succeeds" Molly said, as the others all followed her, even those who didn't know what the hell the plan, expect for Luke who hesitated and blurted out.

"WHAT PLAN! HEY! SERIOUSLY, YOU CAN'T FOLLOW THIS WOMAN!?"

They did so anyway, it had been one of the best days in a very long time for many of them.

* * *

Things weren't looking good.

Rebecca kept baby Lilly in her grasp, Kenny had sealed himself in a small room ever since Sarita died and hadn't come out, Rebecca kept guard of the basement just in case he stumbled down there, but so far he hadn't done.

There was no reason to stay at the house anymore, Rebecca was ready to move on with baby Lilly.

But she didn't think Kenny was ready to leave.

She looked up the stairs and saw this as her chance, she could run away now with baby Lilly, her replacement for AJ, who cared if one sad, grieving man was left to rot. She would have her family back...

She realised then, she was thinking like Christa.

She remembered back at the Hardware store, she had remembered passing her newborn son around the group she had labelled them her family as well as AJ, if she ended up thinking like Christa and losing it all, she could be that messy corpse in the ground right now.

The group was her family.

She took a step up the creaking stairs, ready to talk to Kenny.


	37. You Should Be Dead, Part Two

**A/N: Okay I give you the last chapter of 2014! Hope you guys enjoy it and onto answering reviews...**

**transformersfan2013- Thanks for pointing those out, as writing a good story required those deaths to be done well and they were shocking yet fitting for everyone. (It's part of why I disliked Kenny's return so much, at first I loved seeing him back but then after a while I realised it was a poor choice. I've said countless times that I love Kenny's character but his death in Season 1 was probably one of the best written deaths in video game history and as glad as I was to see Kenny back initially I realised it was a poor choice for the story overall in season 2 as he took up most of the screen time). In this fic I'm trying to make sure we have Kenny in moderation, as I like his character like that and not forced down our throats like I felt the writers of Season 2 were trying to do. **

**lockdown- Molly is my favourite by far, Jane felt like a cheap rip off in Episode 3 she was interesting but then I started to get mixed feelings on her in episode 4, by Episode 5 I really began to get fed up of her survival only attitude. She may have cared for Clementine but her intentions came across as selfish and I was fed up of hearing about her sister. You may say Jane and Molly are alike but I disagree for many reasons**

**Like I said Jane is selfish, manipulative and seriously got on my nerves, she goes on about her sister expecting sympathy whereas Molly does not despite the fact it hurts her so much, too me I got invested in Molly's character because I wanted to learn about her especially after I saw the tape, whereas Jane's actions and dialogue were thrown at me as a player and made me lose interest in her. Also Molly also cared for the group and (this is off-topic, but I like pointing this out) when she tells Lee "It's been fun" before she leaves I felt like that was a foreshadowing to the walking dead game has been fun, we've met new people, lost some, seen so much together but now it's about to end. After playing Episode 5 and then going back to play episode 4 that line makes me tear up for some reason, it makes me realise how close to end Lee was.**

**Anyway back on topic, Molly may have gone of alone but did it for selfless reasons to ensure everyone got onto the boat, whereas Jane left so****_ she_**** couldn't get hurt. That tells me that Molly is a much more "bad-ass" character than Jane will ever be, yes Molly might be a Mary-Sue is some aspects yet she felt more human to me than Jane did. Anyway massive rant over, but that's just my reasoning. **

**Chameishida- You may be onto something, anyway cheers for your review!**

**And thank you everyone else for your kind words (I kinda went on a bit in my opinions, but I simply love discussing characters and stuff in the game) anyway, enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

"NOOOO, LUKE!"

Bonnie screamed as she was pried away from her love, as her head rolled wildly the approaching demons had grabbed her arms and legs and prevented the redhead woman from moving, her unfocused blue orbs locked up the snarling walker above her, as she felt flaky skin scratch upon her own pocket marked forearm, where the marks of her latest syringes had entered the lethal drug into her system.

"LUKE HELP ME!" She wailed as she watched the young man simply fade into nothingness, she tried to struggle again expect several forms held her tighter, she was completely surrounded by these strange silhouettes.

Through her rapidly blurring vision her struggles got weaker as she felt the demons rip her clothes from her body "bandits" she thought sadly, as she prepared for pain to shoot through her legs or wherever else, she could tell the people holding her were men. They were powerfully built, there were too many of them for her too fight, she was bare naked and high as a kite, she may as well been wearing a giant banner stating "PLEASE, COME RAPE ME!" yet nothing happened, Bonnie gulped was the unthinkable happening? Why wasn't she being attacked?

Her vision was blurring.

She was a silhouette got dragged and thrown into the middle of the clearing Bonnie was in, the figure was stuffed into some rags that Bonnie guessed were her own clothing.

"Hey... what's...?" she slurred to the nearest figure above her, a strange chanting had began as the figure in the middle of the clearing screamed... Bonnie realised it was some red-headed woman who looked a hell of a lot like her.

"What's...?"

Bonnie question stopped short, when she saw figures fall onto the ginger woman, blood splattered onto the trees as the woman screamed and wailed. Bonnie's own blood turned to ice as the chanting only got louder and that's when she felt someone breathe into her ear.

"Bonnie, tell your group to run. We're running out of... _patience"_

It was a flat, emotionless tone, one Bonnie instantly recognised it as the voice of the cult leader yet she couldn't see the man, she tried to ask him a question but the she felt the butt of a gun collide with her sweaty forehead and the world went black.

* * *

Bonnie awoke.

Her ears were ringing, her eyes were still a blur and her head was pounding with a dull throbbing pain, she blinked and tried to wipe her eyes but something wasn't right. She still couldn't see all that well.

She lifted her aching back from the floor and took a look around her she was lay sprawled in the middle of the forest, there was nothing nearby. No sounds of people, no sights of people. Nothing. It put her on edge beyond belief, by the way her back was aching and how parched her throat was she guessed she had been out for quite a while now, if that was the case why hadn't any walkers eaten her alive? Why hadn't wolves ripped her to shreds by now? Somebody was keeping these threats away, there was no way in hell she was lying her naturally and unharmed.

In a nutshell she felt like she was lying in one of those silent white rooms, with investigators surrounding her through those glass windows. Those glass windows right now was the foliage of the trees in front of her, she knew that the demons were behind there. Watching her but not moving, not acting against her.

"Hello?" she called out, yet her voice was muffled she was having trouble breathing.

It only occurred to her then that she was no longer naked, she was wearing something. It felt like a rubbery costume or something like that, with a mask on her face that (no matter how many times she pulled at it) didn't seem to come off. She looked through the empty eye sockets of this "mask" as she rose to her feet, stumbling forward into the foliage as a distant horn went off in the distance.

"HEY!" Bonnie yelled again, although there was a slash in where the "mask's" mouth should have been, her voice still wasn't that loud. She cursed herself wondering what on earth had possessed her to take those drugs with Christa, now she was really higher than a kite, this can't have been real. This can't have been...

The horn went off again as Bonnie heard somebody incoming, no not somebody... some people.

"Keep movin'! It came from this way!" came Luke's voice, seemingly bellowed at the others, it was then Bonnie felt adrenaline course through her veins, Luke?Was he real this time? Whatever was in her system had gone, her head was no longer light, but concealed in something tight. Wherever she was... this was happening all too fast. Then... after a few more minutes of stumbling the answer hit her as the third horn went off.

Not demons, she remembered... cultists.

That horn it was the cultists and she remembered that she heard the leader of the cult's voice. Giving her a warning to tell her group, telling them to run, they were losing their patience, they were...

Running now. She could hear Luke shout again as her blood turned to ice, she stumbled blindly in the direction of his voice, shouting his name, as blurs of green and yellow leaves mingled in her vision and large tangled plants that grew and twisted in the undergrowth caused her to fall flat on her face. As she lifted herself upwards for the upmost time, it was only then she became aware she was dragging something along behind her. Like she was wearing some sort of cape or something and then she looked at her hand.

It wasn't her hand she was looking at, the skin was too dark.

She got up, trembling, her knees shaking as she tried to pry off the mask once again, but it wouldn't budge, she felt the marks of stitching on her face. Just as Luke himself emerged from the treeline, his brown eyes met Bonnie's blue eyes.

A woman screamed from behind Luke, as his own eyes doubled in size.

Bonnie felt her legs give way, and her world turn to black once again when she realised what the cult had done to her. She may not have known whose skins she was dragging behind her.

But she knew, she was wearing Mike's skin.

* * *

At the sound of the distant horn Marisol's eyes flickered upwards as Nate brought his truck to slow stop.

"Cult's sound, we better keep moving" Marisol noted, remembering the sound of those damn horns everywhere on that night they had abandoned their group full to the brim with the sick and the dying, only her, Anne, Alex, Josh, Carl, Jim and Dave, they plodded through the rain fleeing from the cult hoping they would get a happily every after in Wellington despite everything. And then of course, those damn horns grew closer, they opened fire and the group were separated like seeds in the weeds.

Alex and Anne found dead afterwards.

Nervous Josh, gunned down with no mercy.

Clever and shy little Carl, hung himself out of guilt.

Jim and Dave ruthlessly shot down after leaving her, by the man right in front of Marisol currently.

Out of all the good people, only her. Stupid, bossy, bitchy little her had survived, she was right in saying she was surrounded by too many good people because when they died it only made her into a more cold hearted bitch. Too Marisol that was the only way to survive, the born again Christian girl she was only three years ago, was long gone and those horns in the distance only served to remind her what the world had truly become.

"Nate, aren't you moving the truck, that's the cult I told you about" Marisol demanded of him again, but the green eyed man had become oddly silent upon hearing the horn and muttered "Strange, I was once part of a gang that used a horn that sounded just like that" upon these words Marisol's head seemed to go dizzy as she spluttered "Wait, how long ago was this?" as Nate put his hands on near his mouth.

"Umm... 50 years ago"

"Seriously Nate?"

"Okay, so it happened soon after Dennis got shot and that fucker Eddie managed to drive away from me, I was in the woods, when these creeps, bandits whatever you wanna call em, come up to me. Seeing as the token response was to shoot them I got my gun out, as did the guys in front of me, they wore the funniest masks, they asked me to join them saying they wouldn't shoot me if they did. So naturally being the gentlemen I am (Marisol snorted here, as Nate ploughed on as if nothing had happened) "I thought rather than fight em, I'd join them to save me the trouble" Nate looked behind him as a second horn went off.

"So, you're saying you were part of the cult at one point?" Marisol summarised as Nate merely tutted.

"I was part of some small bandit group who went around wearing walker masks, I never got to know any of the guys name's or anything. I only ran with them for a few weeks and I got the feeling they only wanted my truck to get around. They communicated using those horns and... hell after a bit things started getting weird"

"How?" Marisol asked, intrigued by this point as Nate lay back.

"Ain't that intrestin' I bumped into several folk and left them, some dead of course but they earned it" Nate mused, as Marisol glared at him, ruffling his deep blue baseball cap, the laid back man continued "Anyway started talkin' shit about We Can't Beat The Dead So We Must Become Them and anyone that refused to join their little group got shot into a thousand little pieces..."

"I've told you the cult did that, didn't you once want to make the link, or bring it up!" Marisol exclaimed, as Nate yawned she continued nagging "Hey! Are you even listening to me?"

"Mornin' Marisol, what is it?" Nate joked, as Marisol merely sighed and tried to stress her point by stressing that "Nate this is serious, you bumped into that cult when it was still being formed! What did...!"

"Look, whether it's the same cult or not. It don't matter, when they really starting goin' nuts, like starting to wear body bags of walkers I decided to get the hell outta there. So I put my mask down and slammed my foot on the pedal of this here truck, they never came after me and I never saw them again. Goodbye. End of story." Nate concluded as he lay back again as a third horn went off as Marisol looked back at the steering wheel.

"If you really don't want to see them again, I suggest we keep on driving" She lectured him, although the cult was merely a distant memory for Nate, the third horn deeply unnerved him as well, yet he didn't show this as he causally replied to Marisol's worried lecture with a bored "Fine" as he geared the truck to life again. That group he was with those years ago, they were simply a few punks running around with guns, a few freaks with masks on who simply went slightly cuckoo so Nate thought he'd leave them.

Those freaks with guns, they can't have grown into this creepy cult that Marisol had described vividly to him, that numbered thousands.

Yet, why was the horn the same?

* * *

The group had been joking, Clementine was playing catch up with Molly as Sarah listened in behind them. While Nick and Eddie got a kick out of teasing Luke over his new "Wife" which he seemed baffled about. Although Eddie was the one to break the news of Bonnie's death to the group (much too the shock and sadness of the others) the had to move on and try and lift their spirits, and Clementine decided that speaking to an unfazed Molly (who never knew Bonnie) was the perfect way to do this.

"After Savannah kid, I wondered around alone for a while. But what happened to your damn boat? I thought you guys said you were going out to sea on that thing?" she asked of Clementine, as Clementine sadly shook her head and muttered "It was stolen from us, that old guy Vernon and his group took the boat" as Molly sighed and snarled "I hope the fossil got what was coming to him then, It's one thing to steal a boat from adults but from a little girl" she shook her head as she cursed the late Vernon.

"I heard he died Molly, Stef was in a group with the people who were with him" Clementine told the blonde woman. Molly turned back to the younger black haired woman who was busy gazing into the treeline. A sharp "Stef!" from Molly caught her attention as she turned to Molly muttering "What?"

"You knew a group of survivors, noticeably old folk..."

"Yeah, they were all nice to me, look if this has anything to do with that whole boat situation back in Savannah, I've already heard enough of it from Ken..."

A distant horn stopped her mid-sentence, Nick and Luke's conversation trailed slowly to a halt replaced with the sound of the wildlife around them, as the rumbling of the horn rested on all their eardrums. Everyone looked at each other, their heartbeats beginning to beat more rapidly against their chests.

"Shit, I know that sound" Molly muttered, remembering the cult that had chased her through this forest.

"We better move, NOW!" Luke roared, the urgency in his voice sending everyone bolting in the opposite direction of where the horn was heard. Clementine ran on, remembering the last time they had heard horns and they last time their group had been separated, Kelly had been ripped to shreds, Lilly had been killed, Vince had gone insane and nearly got Luke killed...

Those memories are what the horns brought. Those horns had brought out the monster in Clementine, the monster who had shot Josh to death with no mercy.

She had to get away from the damn things.

As if reading her thoughts a second horn went off, directly in front of them, as Luke (who was ahead of the others) shouted "Keep movin'! It came from this way!" he pointed directly ahead of him as the group turned on it's heel and ran the opposite direction to both horns as Clementine herself nearly crashed into a small tree, as Sarah wailed from behind her "I CAN'T SEE! I CAN'T SEE! WAIT UP! WAIT FOR ME!" Clementine turned around and locked her hand around Sarah's as she helped to drag the panicking teenager forward, as they jogged on as Sarah kept gasping "I wish I had my glasses, I wish I had my glasses.." before she went flying onto a weed that poked out of the ground, sending Clementine sprawling to the ground with her.

As the two girls struggled to rise to their feet, a third horn went off as Clementine felt her blood run colder... they were closing in.

"Hurry up Sarah!" she squealed to her friend, as a panicking Sarah managed to steady her feet as she allowed Clementine to lead her forward. As they trailed at the rear of the group, Luke changed directions at the front of the group, as Stephanie started to think. Horns going off, they were changing direction every time a horn did go off, it wasn't rocket science. The cult must have known this, they was only one reason the cult were sounding their horns now.

They were leading the group to something.

Before she could shout a warning to Luke, he already saw what the cult had led to them too. He paused in his tracks, as Stephanie saw what was in front of him and screamed, as the woman wearing Mike collapsed to the floor. Luke slowly approached the form as Nick saw the site of Mike stitched onto somebody else and bellowed "What the actual fuck! Cultist fuckers!" Luke himself slowly approached the person wearing Mike as he lifted the woman's head and gazed into her flickering blue eyes as she gained consciousness once again.

"L...Luke" she croaked in disbelief.

"B-Bonnie!" He responded in disbelief, upon hearing this exclamation the other's members of the group surrounded Bonnie as they recognised her instantly, even if she was covered in Mike's skin, the exposed parts of her skin (and eyes) made the others recognise her instantly.

"T-that can't be her! We saw her, she was ripped to shreds Luke!" Eddie exclaimed.

"It was her... they... the body we saw had her clothes on her" Clementine gasped in disbelief as Luke looked down at Bonnie as she slowly began to peel away Mike's former face from her own, the stitches snapped leaving a trail of blood down Bonnie's face as it was fully revealed to the group as they gasped, gazing upon a clearly flustered (but clearly alive) Bonnie.

"Bonnie, is that you?" Luke asked holding her closer, as the redhead nodded. She shivered in his grip before reaching up her pale hand and stroking Luke's face.

"A-are... are you real Luke?" she asked in disbelief, tears welling in her eyes as Luke slowly trailed his fingers over her own bony cheek.

"Y-yeah" he stuttered back, the first of his happy tears sliding down his face and splashing on Bonnie's nose, as he pulled her closer and sobbed "Oh God... Bonnie I thought you were dead! I saw you dead! Jesus I... what did they do to you!?" he asked as he continued to sob on, as Bonnie tearfully store at the sky, a small smile on her face as she looked at the faces of her friends.

"H-howdy" she said to them all, as Eddie looked at Clementine and muttered "But we saw her ripped to shreds... she was wearing the clothes we last saw her in..."

"No, remember Eddie. All we saw was a mangled body of a redhead woman with Bonnie's clothes, look at the skin they've put on her, they... they changed her clothes and they... they kept her alive and faked her death" Clementine summarised, barely able to believe it. Both happy and scared at the same time, she was obviously happy that Bonnie was alive, but why? Why did the cultists fake her death in the first place? Why had they draped her in Mike skin?

"Listen, the horns have stopped" Stephanie informed the group, they all went silent as this truth all dawned on them. After five minutes of hearing the birds sing, a nervous silence crept up on them all. Stephanie broke it as she muttered "They sent them off to lead us here, to lead us to Bonnie" Nick heard this news, glanced at Mike's body and angrily announced "I know why, they think they're trying to fucking unnerve us by having Bonnie wear Mike, it ain't workin!" he roared to the trees, as if challenging the cult itself. When no one emerged Stephanie merely sighed sadly.

"He... that damn leader..." Bonnie croaked as Luke leaned in and the group went quiet, the only sound that could be heard was of that of Sarah's sobbing as Clementine approached her slowly, "Sarah?" she called out as Bonnie continued to speak.

"He... told me... to tell you guys, tell the group... to move. They're... they're... running out of patience"

Luke looked up at the others at Bonnie's statement as Stephanie looked at what Sarah was sobbing at and what Clementine was staring at... her eyes wide and horrified as Stephanie merely muttered "They faked her death and they brought her back too us, not only too unnerve us... but to warn us" she concluded.

They all saw, the "cape" Bonnie had been dragging along had been the flattened skins of Randy, Patricia, Gill, Natasha and Vitali, if that wasn't enough to make everyone gasp and retch in fear than the message cut into the back of their skins surely must have been, as the crudely cut thing read...

**_"Your failures, one with the second chance" _**

Clementine felt her legs fail as she collapsed onto a nearby tree root, she didn't cry oddly enough she felt like all the oxygen in her lungs had been sucked out of her. Leaving her gasping for breath, it wasn't just the fact that not only Gill had been cruelly mutilated like this that made her retch in shock, as she heard Stephanie call to her (as if she were at the other end of a tunnel) "Clem? You okay? Hey guys, something wrong's with Clem!" she didn't register the other's looks of horror as they gazed at their fallen comrades. No, Clementine eyes were fixated on the message.

Second chance, those words were out there for the world to see. They were no longer just words in her head, they were words craved upon the bodies of people she had failed to save. Eddie's face was in front of her own, asking if she was okay, asking if she needed anything to drink or something, as Luke helped Bonnie out of Mike's skin-suit as she shook all over. Yet she wasn't the only one shaking, even in her state she noticed how badly Luke shook, especially after Nick read the message aloud craved onto the bodies of the others.

Clementine knew people were somewhat suspicious of her know, her reaction to the reading the message was all to obvious, she put it down to seeing Gill again. But Stephanie's hard stare told her that the black haired woman didn't believe her, that slowly but surely the group were clocking on that something was up. Stephanie herself could hardly believe that the question kept running through her head, but... did Clementine know something? That look of familiarity in her eyes upon seeing that message, it may have just been Gill, maybe she was being stupid.

Or maybe she was onto something bigger.

Clementine managed to get a hold of herself, only then did she share eye contact with Luke to realise how terrified and silent he had suddenly gone. His skin was also whiter than a sheet. It seemed to her, he was fairly shook up by events, yet he managed to keep himself busy by checking if anything had happened to Bonnie. There was no obvious marks on her (other than the places where her skin had been stitched up to Mike's) using bandages to treat her wounds. The group surrounded Bonnie as she told her tale.

She, Rebecca, Christa, Kenny and Sarita had found an old house, Christa got high off drugs she found in the basement and Bonnie (shamefully admitting) she had done so as well. When Rebecca came down to tell them off, Bonnie had playfully run off and out into the woods as high as a kite. That's when... they came. She described them as chanting as they ripped apart some red-head woman who looked a lot like her, she described the leader's warning and then her waking up, alone and with Mike's skin on. Barely any time had passed at all since she woke up and the horns had sounded and she had come across Luke and the others.

"Well that means the others should be close by" Luke mused, as he pulled a map out of his pocket, trailing his finger of the green of the lush forest, he finally found what he was looking for as he smiled and muttered "There's the lake, if it was a big house Bonnie, it ain't too far from that Lake" he stated as he looked at rectangular brown blob surrounded by smudges of green.

"We'll barely be moving if we go back for super-Mario and friends" Molly decided to chip in.

"We can't leave friends behind, Sarita's pregnant so we need to re-group to figure out our next move" Nick argued back as Molly angrily muttered "Look, look at her you guys!" she pointed at Bonnie at this before continuing "See what they did to her? See what they did to your dead friends? They gave us this warning to move for a reason and we spend half the day trekking back towards some house from the way you just came..." Molly looked around at them, her point made clear. However Bonnie shook her head.

"I can't leave them, not after I ran off like that, I simply can't. I'm going back" She told them, as Molly simply rolled her eyes and muttered "Well if we are going back, we can't hover around, they went through the effort of keeping Bonnie alive to give you this warning. They meant it" Molly lectured as Luke counter-argued "Yeah and she's the only one here who knows where the others are, for some strange reason they want us to regroup" Luke point was made clear as the others nodded in agreement with him.

"Well let's not waste time then" Molly snapped, as she rose to her feet.

"Yeah, we don't need to stick around and listen to bullshit messages. One with the second chance my ass..." Nick snarled as Clementine merely gulped, hoping no one noticed her discomfort as Eddie picked up on the small message and murmured "One with the second chance... weird thing to say huh?" he asked of Luke who helped Bonnie to her feet, he seemed to go rigid at Eddie's question before he replied "Um... yeah load of gibberish though must have been tryin' to say something complex and failed at it" Luke mused.

_"They weren't, they know about me"_ Clementine thought to herself in horror.

* * *

They reached the large house that very evening, Luke had to support Bonnie as they trekked on through the day. Molly's humour had died, she seemed in a bad mood "Guy in the truck is probably miles away by now" she spat to the others, yet seeing Kenny, Christa, Sarita and Rebecca again was one of the only thoughts that could keep Clementine sane right now. Especially since the cult somehow knew her secret and were taunting her for her failures.

Reaching the site of the large, impending house Sarah prayed aloud "Please, please don't be gone" she begged of any God listening so she could see Rebecca and the others again. Luke put down the skins of the others he had been carrying on his shoulder. Nick asked what the fuck he was doing when he picked them up in the first place. Luke stated he wanted to bury them properly without rushing, so when they stopped at the house for a while he would get the chance to do that and so as the others ventured forwards slowly Luke placed the skins on the ground and began too (with his bare hands) dig a grave.

Clementine looked over at him and that's when it hit her.

The way Luke looked down at the corpses of those he had failed under his lead, his eyes were softening, then the sweat that rolled down his head as he scooped out the dirt, showed the passion he had when burying them. It was as if he was trying to punish himself... for... for his own failures.

For the first time it suddenly occurred to Clementine, her second chance, until recently it wasn't something she thought about. She took it for granted and she assumed it was her gift alone.

But now it dawned on her, _that message in the skins wasn't for her at all. _


	38. Madness

**A/N: Okay, happy new year all! and onto next chapter...**

**Justsomeguy23- Thanks for your reviews (I saw the reviews you left in No Going Back? as well and I'm glad you agree with me on my viewpoints) anyway I hope you continue to enjoy my stories and that they entertain. **

**Chameishida and ffapathy- Loving your predictions and co, the fact the cult and their messages are making you speculate so much shows that are certainly interesting and I've had them planned from the start what their true intentions are, I will say the cultist leader is someone to keep your eye on and what his ultimate goal is. and as for the titles of the No Going Back? episodes I imagine they'd go like this...**

**Episode 1, Back In Hell covering Clem's demise, her return and up to the point of Sarah and Nick's exile. Episode 2 A Fighting Family, covering Nick and Sarah's adventures at the Museum right before they flee and the main group's struggles and fully covering Rebecca's birth ending with the group beaten and stripped but not crushed and defeated. Episode 3 No Plan Now would cover the trailer park and the river for Nick and Sarah and cover up to the aftermath of the group killing the rebels, I imagine the episode would end on the chapter "Cry". Episode 4 Friends To Gain would cover the build up to the rebellion, Nick and Sarah seeing the cult for the first time, getting to the cabin, Sarah being shot and the return of Lilly, and episode 5 No Way Out, covering the rebellion itself, the deaths and the ending. Hope this helped!**

**Kristal Dynamite- Thank you! The mysterious, creepy vibe must be seeping into this story because I've been watching a lot of horror games playthrough's recently (Five Night's At Freddy's fault, but I love that game) A lot of plans have changed in this story but the cult has stayed the same although even as I write about them now, I surprise myself on how creepy I make them.**

**AquaDestinysEmbrace- Yep in No Going Back? It was Stephanie who was lucky, also notice how last chapter it as Stephanie who was starting to pick up on the odd signs, I am giving something away here? Or I am messing with your heads? Muhawawawa I feel so evil messing with all your heads.**

**Upside-down-Neopolitan dreams- A new reviewer! Welcome to the story and I'm glad you like it!**

**Bubbles2k100- A bit longer than three days but the update's here (enjoy) and yep I decided to bring Bonnie back, when I read her death back, too me as an author I felt like it fell flat and relied on the shock and gore factor. Yes I wanted to prove the wolves were a threat and could kill someone but Bonnie's had quite a few POV's and growth in the story. I felt like her story isn't over yet and there's a lot more to tell.**

**and finally transfrmersfan2013- I prefer Season 1 Lee, he was an awesome protagonist and as much as I love Clem in Season 2 (but even more so in season 1) Lee was a believable and generally awesome guy I could go on about how much Lee-love there is out there, but I think you get the point that no one will ever be more popular than Lee (probably other than Clementine) but Season 2 Clem, I love her don't get me wrong I just found some of her actions a bit unrealistic (surviving being shot in the shoulder, managing the wind turbine, and don't get me started on how she kicked down that door in episode 4) also most of Season 2 aim is to survive. I loved how this done in Episode 1 because if felt realistic (harsh wildlife, distrusting strangers, sneaking, stealing and blackmail) but as the season grew on this theme grew tiresome to me. Whereas playing as Lee (he had a motivation, other than too just survive which was refreshing as every action he made was too protect Clem) **

**and thank you everyone else for reviewing (this is a damn long author's note), anyway onto the next chapter!**

* * *

Rebecca creaked open to the door to the room Kenny was in, he lay slumped on the decaying grey wall, his head hung low in an obvious depression, his back hunched the expression twisted onto his face was that of agony. His working eye boring itself into the cracks beneath the wooden panels in the floor. No more tears fell from his singular eye. Since neither he nor Rebecca had touched Sarita's body since she died, she still lay in the opposite room. All Kenny's clothes and bandages still lay with her.

His mess (that was once an eye) left a very nasty blob of a scarred red mess. Rebecca had since this before, but she still recoiled slightly at the site of the hideous wound on full display, when Kenny looked up at her and his daughter after the soft sound of Rebecca's shoe creaking on the wood drifted to Kenny's ears. Causing the grieving man to slowly lift his head and wonder mildly what Rebecca wanted.

"Don't-say-anything" he growled, reminding Rebecca of the low growls of lions she had heard when at a zoo, observing the animals with Alvin by her side and merry children running by...

Not here. Not now. That wasn't their world anymore.

"Kenny" Rebecca began, as his singular eye hardened, as it locked onto the curly haired woman.

"I don't want you saying shit Rebecca! I don't want any I'm sorry's or... this must be hard on you! She's dead! Sarita's fucking dead! That's it! That's fucking it! End of discussion!" Kenny roared, but too Rebecca this certainly wasn't the end.

"Kenny I know you need space..." Rebecca began, she knew there was no easy way to start this, Kenny was going to lash out at her anyway but she had to start speaking. She watched a muscle in Kenny's mouth jut as he sucked his lips inwards, preparing to bellow something horrible to her. He was grieving, she knew that. She knew whatever he said he probably didn't mean, Nick had been just like it after his mother died back at the cabin, Rebecca was used to dealing with this.

"DIDN'T YOU HEAR ME! LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!"

As per expected, Rebecca didn't panic even if Kenny was glaring at her openly now, however at the sound of the harsh loud noise stinging her eardrums and frightening her, baby Lilly began to wail in panic. The hours old infant scrunching her eyes shut and opening her toothless mouth to project her fear, for the world to hear.

"Shut that bitch up!" Kenny demanded of Rebecca. Rebecca was fully prepared for insults directed at her, but her mouth dropped open in appalled shock after what she just heard Kenny shout. He called his own daughter a "Bitch" at merely a few hours old. Feeling her blood boil Rebecca swelled like a frog as she lost her cool.

"How dare you, THIS IS YOUR DAUGHTER KENNY! YOUR LITTLE GIRL! YOU ARE THE ONLY FAMILY SHE HAS...!"

"SHE KILLED SARITA!" Kenny screamed, bolting upwards and holding a firm stance, his single eye shot a loathsome glare at his daughter, before he addressed Rebecca once again.

"THAT... BITCH! THAT THING... IT KILLED THE WOMAN I LOVED! I WOULD RATHER HAVE HER DIE THAN HAVE SARITA DIE..."

"Take that back..."

"NO! THAT'S THE TRUTH! THAT'S WHAT I WANTED! ME AND SARITA! WHY DOES THIS FUCKING BITCH HAVE TO COME ALONG AND WRECK IT! AND SARITA WANTED HER TO BE CALLED LILLY! YEAH THAT ADDS TO THE VIBE I HATE ABOUT THIS FUCKING BABY! FUCKING LILLY! FUCK THAT KID...!"

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED KENNY!?" Rebecca screeched "WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MAN WHO FOUGHT TOOTH AND NAIL TO PROTECT YOUR KID! WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM!? WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!? WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!? CALLING YOUR OWN DAUGHTER A BITCH AND WISHING SHE DIED! HOW COULD...!"

"I WAS PROTECTING SARITA! I JUST WANTED THE BABY TO BE BORN GODDAMIT! I DIDN'T WANT TO BE LEFT WITH A FUCKING... A FUCKING... LIABILITY OF A DAUGHTER CALLED LILLY OF EVERYTHING... AND... I... I... HONESTLY WANTED A SON!"

Rebecca couldn't take it any more, she gently lay Lilly onto the floor as the child continued to wail, Rebecca ignored the child's outstretched arms, she needed to slap some sense into Kenny and if Kenny got violent, Rebecca didn't want Lilly to be in the way. Something about his final comment of wanting a son had finally made something snap in Rebecca, she got the whole father-son pride thing. But a daughter was just as much a human being than a son was, Kenny's old fashioned way of thinking... well Rebecca was certain she'd set him straight. The sassy woman took gallant stomps towards Kenny, until they were eventually face to face.

"Sarita would be ashamed of you, get a fucking grip Kenny" Rebecca snapped.

and she slapped him across the face.

Kenny expected the impact, Rebecca continued to watch him, to see if he would snap out of it, yet when he blinked something even more alarming happened his face shone in fury as he lifted his fist and punched Rebecca right across the face.

"Don't tell me to get a grip" he seethed in fury, as Rebecca held her swollen face in her hands, spitting blood (and a tooth) from her mouth she growled up at Kenny "You... fucking disgrace..."

"YOU'RE THE FUCKING DISGRACE! I BET YOU JUST WANT TO RUN OFF WITH LILLY! GO ON THEN RUN OFF! RUN OFF IF I'M SUCH A FUCKING DISGRACE, IT'S OBVIOUS I'D MAKE A BAD FATHER ANYWAY!" Kenny screamed as Rebecca lost her head. Anger clouded her judgement, as (rather than utter comforting words) she reached her breaking point as well. So she lashed out as well, fed up of the bullshit Kenny was giving her.

"YOU... YOU BROKE UP MY FAMILY! IF YOU HADN'T SHOT CARVER BACK AT THE LODGE ALVIN WOULD STILL BE HERE! YOU KILLED MY OTHER HALF! AND I'VE BEEN SURVIVING WITH YOU FOR MONTHS! GET OVER YOUR SELFISHNESS FOR A FEW GODDAMN SECONDS KENNY AND THINK ABOUT HOW I FEEL, EVERY DAY! HAVING TO WIPE YOUR BACKSIDE!" She roared, as Kenny lost it completely he didn't want to hear of his past mistakes. He had to shut her up somehow, he had too stop this noise! His head felt like it was going to explode.

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" He screeched diving at Rebecca, pinning her to the ground as his large, rough hands wrapped themselves around Rebecca's neck as he began to apply pressure. Rebecca's face was starting to turn blue as she spluttered and Kenny began to squeeze harder... his head hurting even more as Lilly wailed and screamed.

"FUCKING SHUT UP!" He roared, he used one of his hands (covered in Sarita's dried blood) to reach across the dusty floor to get to his daughter, to throttle her, shut her up or something. Yet that was his mistake, Rebecca managed to use her legs to kick Kenny where it hurt. Kenny wheezed and rolled off her, as Rebecca scurried to the side reaching for a knife in her pocket as she whipped it and ran towards Kenny.

Her intent was too kill, Kenny was bent over his infant daughter, shaking her vigorously as the child screamed louder.

Murder on his mind.

"KENNY, STOP!" Rebecca roared as she screamed and pushed her knife into Kenny's shoulder-blade, Kenny screamed as fresh blood poured down his bare chest, he dropped his daughter to the floor, (as she wailed ever further) he used his good arm to whack Rebecca once again. The African american woman stumbled backwards, as Kenny focused his attentions on pulling the knife out of his arm.

"KENNY! YOU DON'T GET IT DO YOU!? JUST STOP FIGHTING PICK UP YOUR DAUGHTER AND LOOK AFTER HER!" Kenny didn't listen to her, as his face crumpled in agony as he pulled the metal blade out of his circulation, looking up he muttered darkly "You stabbed me Rebecca, ain't no going back now" he circled Rebecca like a hawk, blocking off any chance she had of escaping. Rebecca was reminded of when she was stuck in the office with Carver and Tavia holding her hostage. When they had the advantage like Kenny had now. She was going to die, she got lucky that time, but this time she was sure of it.

"LOOK AT HER! YOUR KID!" Rebecca roared in fury as a last resort, yet tears slipped down her face as she pointed at Lilly "YOU HAVE A KID KENNY! APPRECIATE IT! I HAVE NOTHING! NOBODY TO LOVE! NO MORE AJ! EVERYONE THAT'S CLOSE TO ME IS DEAD! YET I'M STILL HERE AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHY! THE ONLY FORM OF APPRECIATION I NEED IS FOR YOU NOT TO GIVE UP KENNY! IT MAKES ME FEEL LIKE I'M ACTUALLY HELPING... IT... IT..." She broke down there as she simply collapsed onto the wooden floor sobbing hysterically, all that she had lost, from Alvin, to AJ, to recent loss of Christa, it hit her like a ton of bricks. She felt whatever sort of fighting spirit she had left ebb away from her, as she closed her eyes and waited for Kenny to silt her throat.

She waited, she heard his footsteps but didn't she didn't feel him, hoist her to her feet, nor did she feel a metal blade dig into her back. Instead she dared to open her brown eyes a fraction to see him bent down in his original position once again, yet this time a bundle was in his arms. Alarmed slightly (because Lilly was no longer wailing) she stood up slowly as Kenny looked up at her again, his face was blotchy red mess, as tears fell endlessly from his single eye. Lilly was looking up at her father in curiosity her hands, grasping on his chest and beard as Kenny rocked her slowly back and forth, mumbling some sort of lullaby.

"I... I'm a monster" he got out of his mouth hoarsely, his voice that of a broken man, as Rebecca approached him slowly.

"I shouldn't have lost my temper Kenny, I shouldn't have said those things, I'm sorry..." Rebecca apologised as she bent down on her knees and looked him over. He was a mess indeed, when he didn't reply to her she kept the conversation going by uttering "I stabbed you. Jesus Christ I stabbed you! and we've got no meds to deal with it..."

"Ain't nothin" Kenny muttered gazing at the deep cut in his shoulder, as he sobbed again and continued "I wanted you to do that Rebecca. I wanted to vent out on someone, I wanted someone to vent out on me. I just wanted to destroy everything... I just... something snapped just then Rebecca. Look, take Lilly here and run, get away from me. What just happened it's gonna happen again..." he warned as Rebecca shook her head.

"I know you want to die Kenny, so did I after I lost Alvin, but you gotta keep going, I wish I could say something that would make you feel better, but I can't. No matter how many things people tell you, or how many times they encourage you to go on, you just want to tell them to shut up. You just want to die with the person you lost, you don't want to go on. But... these words are going to be meaningless to you, but you've got to live on. Sarita died for Lilly to be born, cherish that child" she encouraged him, as Kenny held his daughter closer.

"I'm... I nearly killed you both! and you still think I'm a worthy father! Rebecca please, just go! I want you to be happy, you can be with Lilly, you can both be happy! I failed Sarita, just like I failed Kajtaa and Duck, no matter how hard I try... everything just fucking fails...!" he restrained himself from punching something, as he sighed, sobbing again as he pulled Lilly closer. He muttered to her "alright, you're my little girl, daddy's been bad so you're gonna go on with Rebecca now, she'll look after you..."

"Kenny, you're not leaving her" Rebecca said flatly as Kenny opened his mouth, Rebecca shushed him as she told him clearly "You failed your family Kenny, I thought I did too. But then I realised this whole group's my family, if I leave with Lilly now I'll have failed you, in the same way you'll have failed the only piece of family you have left" Kenny blinked at her logic, as he finally laid back as Rebecca did the same, the pair of them simply sat in silence, there was nothing to say.

"I think Lilly's hungry" Rebecca finally muttered, as Lilly began to cry again.

"There's some baby formula in Sarita's bag, just in case something happened to her... I didn't want to think about it. But now it's happened we might as well use em" he mumbled sadly.

And so he did, he cradled his daughter in his arms, as Rebecca managed to quickly grab his blood drenched clothes from Sarita's body, using them as a bandage over the wound in his shoulder. Although he complained once or twice his right arm was aching, he continued to hold onto his daughter with both arms, refusing to let her go. Scared of the monster inside himself that had nearly murdered two people merely a short while ago. All that was going through his head were thoughts of Sarita, memories of Sarita and then her bled out white body. His worst nightmare come to life, he felt insane he wanted too rip this world to shreds... thoughts on all that he had lost.

Not what he had gained.

He held onto Lilly, his only piece of sanity right now, his earlier rage embarrassing him into silence, especially after all Rebecca had been through and he never even considered how she felt, he despised himself for that. So, he finally spoke up.

"Thanks" he muttered, breaking the silence, as Lilly had long since been fed and drifted off to sleep, Rebecca simply sat next to him, blue bruises on her neck where Kenny had nearly choked the life out of her, making him burn crimson in shame, Rebecca looked exhausted as she opened her half lidded eyes by a small fraction and mumbled "For what? Stabbing you?"

"For being there, it... it means a lot"

Rebecca smiled at him before she laid back once again, Kenny tried hard to think of what he had lost, his failures... it drove him insane.

He realised, when he had a goal, or something to protect he was a much better man.

So that's what he did right now, he held onto what he had gained and what he would protect.

and not slaughter in a fit of madness.

* * *

"It's time to wake up, now good sir"

Kenny's eyes fluttered open, slowly his senses instantly on high alert although he didn't know why.

"and yes, you too good missus, yes that's it. Recognise me at all"

Kenny rubbed his eyelids he and Rebecca must have fallen asleep where they sat, his arm was still numb but it seemed like his layers of bandages had done something good, because the bleeding had stopped. He still felt weak and woozy, yet this voice set him on high alert, a stranger was here! a stranger was in the house! Before he could stand up and hit the man, he heard Rebecca scream as he heard the sound of a gun click.

"Don't move, or I am afraid I will have to shoot you in self defence, please remain calm and allow me to explain all to you. I'm not here to hurt you"

Kenny got a clear look at the man, well it was a man draped in a green shirt... no the skin of a man draped in a green t-shirt! That voice... that calm, horribly pleasant voice! That was the damn cult leader!

"YOU!" He roared as the man smiled back at him, he was too frozen for words, the cult leader! Here!? Alone!? A quick glance around him told Kenny that the man was certainly alone, the empty house creaked as the cold winter winds blew on the structure, Rebecca gulped before she managed to stutter at the man "Y-you're w-w-wearing... P-p-pete" as the leader of the cult gave her an odd look indeed.

"I'm sorry, but I'm sure the skin of the walker I'm wearing is not somebody you knew..."

"DON'T PLAY GAMES WITH ME! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" Rebecca screamed, as the leader of the cult inspected his gun in mild curiosity, before he looked back at Rebecca and muttered "Hmm... well I am certainly surprised. I wore the same skin when I approached your leader. Luke. Yes, Luke back at the Hardware Store, a very pleasant man indeed, hmm... he didn't seem to recognise this man, are you saying the opposite?" the man asked Rebecca in curiosity as she muttered in horror "Pete... Pete was like a father to Luke. You... you put him on in front of him..." Rebecca muttered in appalled horror, as the man nodded simply.

"I thought it was okay, Luke didn't complain. Surely if Luke knew the man I was wearing was a friend of his, he would have told you. You were part of the group he was in back at the Hardware store, close friends I presume. If that's so, _why wouldn't Luke tell you?" _the last words of his sentence were laced with something sinister, as Rebecca went silent Kenny picked up on that sinister undertone in the man's voice, as he bellowed "ENOUGH BULLSHIT HOTSHOT! WHY ARE THE FUCK ARE YOU REALLY HERE! NO MORE GAMES AND CUT STRAIGHT TO THE CHASE! WE KNOW YOU'VE BEEN WATCHING US! CHASING US AND GOD KNOWS WHAT ELSE! YOU SHOULD YOU'D HUNT US AND KILL US IF YOU DIDN'T JOIN YOUR WEIRD ASS CULT, WE DIDN'T AND YOU CHASED YOU DOWN! SO DON'T COME HERE AND PLAY MIND GAMES WITH US! YOU CAN'T KILL US AND THEN CHANGE YOUR MIND!" Kenny trailed to a halt as the man simply gazed at him for a while, his cold grey eyes sending shivers up Kenny's spine, who managed to return his stare without looking away first.

"Hmm... yes we were tracking you down admittedly. But what's with the hostility? Don't you see? You've been given a _second_ chance, you're free to join us again, seeing what's happened to your group out here you clearly can't survive on your own, we offer, food, warmth, protection..."

"Yeah well you're can take your offer and shove it up your walker skin ass, you fucking psycho!" Kenny yelled, as Rebecca caught him by his arm and warningly hissed "Kenny..." as the man merely smiled at the duo, his gun still trained on the pair.

"It's okay I do not take offence, see I've come here to offer you a second chance. Don't worry the rest of your group is heading towards this house as we speak. We saved your friend Bonnie in the woods and led her back to your old group, she's on her way here now with the rest of your group" the man announced to them,as Kenny darkly told him "Why? Why are you leading them here?"

"It's a meeting point, you two shall inform the group of our deal, stay here and we shall be back at midnight. This time we expect you to stay with us, you've seen what happens out here... in the wilderness..."

"and what happens if we flee again?" Kenny dared to ask.

The man let out a wide smile.

"Well, we may have been hunting you at first but you had a truck. This time you don't, bear in mind all of your group who have died haven't died out our hands. You have... died at the hands of each other" he flashed another devilish grin at Kenny, who felt his blood boil.

"How do you know this?"

"Observations" he answered cryptically.

"So have been following us? If so, why haven't you been shooting at us? Why have you simply been watching us, what the hell do you really want? Out of every bandit in the woods, that lodge full of the sick people you shot down and everyone else. Why us? Why are you giving us the second chances? Why our group in particular?" Rebecca asked of him in rapid succession, the leader of the cult didn't crack under Rebecca's third degree, rather he ignored all her questions completely, well almost all of them.

"We can't shoot you, the_ one with the second chance _begged for our forgiveness, if you refuse our deal they will talk sense into you, they have been in your group the whole time, watching the struggles you have faced and that person has suffered, up until the point where they couldn't take it any more they came to us. We want you to join us, it's as simple as that really, and I'm sorry to see the woes you have suffered, but the_ one with the second chance _has seen it all before..."

"What the fuck are you blabberin' on about. Don't give us cryptic bullshit, give us a straight answer!" Kenny demanded, as the leader only sighed.

"The One with the second chance, they know your struggle out here is pointless, you will all die in the end unless you join us. This is the second and last time we'll make this deal with you, if you refuse... then I'm sorry to say but you must die for not accepting our way"

"And that's exactly the reason I ain't going to join you" Kenny responded, as the leader merely laughed and told them "Oh you will, don't worry about that. I shall find you all here tonight at midnight".

"Hang on a minute, one with the second chance..." Rebecca said aloud as she looked at the cult leader as understanding dawned on her face "Are you saying someone in our group has... has betrayed us and told you about us!?" she asked in horror as he nodded.

"Why else haven't we shot you by now, why else do we know where you are? We have been following you but the one with the second chance, has also been directing us..."

"This is bullshit! There ain't no traitor in our group! This fucker is trying to stir his wooden spoon!" Kenny raged, as the leader merely sighed and hung his head "If that's what you want to believe, believe that. But I will see you here tonight, for now I take my leave" he said as he bowed and shifted out of the door, however before he left Kenny heard him shout back "Oh and Kenny, you have a very beautiful baby daughter, you may want to join us. Too protect her"and then Kenny heard him descending the stairwell.

Pulling Lilly closer to his chest, he bellowed after the man "HEY! WE AIN'T DONE YET! HEY!" He ran out of the door (Lilly still in his arms) as he bolted across the house yelling after that freak that had just seemingly left them. He burst out of the front door, yet the man was no where to be seen. The strong winter gales stung at his skin and after Rebecca yelled "KENNY GET BACK INSIDE!" and after the hot headed man had surveyed the forest in front of him (in which he couldn't see any cultist leaders hanging around) he slowly closed the door once again, looking down at Lilly, a new fire in his eyes.

He would protect her, by getting her as far away from that damn cult as possible.

In The pine forest, the cult leader walked on, alone and in silence, smug at his work.

He had too... tweek that group a bit. Get them up and moving, his own group were getting impatient but they had to see this through, right until the very end.

He and the group his cult had followed, still needed... _a lot more to prove._

* * *

"They, that guy didn't make the gender of the traitor clear, he just said they..."

"Rebecca, his playing with our heads there ain't no traitor, I don't give two shits what he wants but I am not stickin' around to find out" Kenny argued back as he prepared to pack his supplies (well, the supplies he had left) as Rebecca stubbornly sat on the floor and protested against his stubborn way of thinking.

"We can't leave just yet Kenny! What if that guy was right? What if the group really are coming along?"

Kenny sighed "They ain't and every minute we spend here, is another..."

He was cut short by the sound of the front door creaking open downstairs as Kenny's ears picked up on the sounds of several footsteps hastily entering the house. A distinctive call of "ANYONE IN HERE!" made Rebecca smile and Kenny's blood turn to ice. That was Bonnie's voice and if that was true, then surely...

"HEY! CHRISTA! SARITA! REBECCA! KENNY! ANYONE AROUND!?" Nick muffled voice wafted up to the upper floors, Kenny couldn't move he simply fell back into place, his baby daughter cradled in his arms as he heard several pairs of footsteps ascend the dusty stairwell. "WERE COMING UP!" Nick yelled as Kenny stayed firmly in place. Rebecca on the other hand couldn't contain herself, rather than wait in the room she sprinted off towards the sounds of her friends.

The group reached the landing, Molly, Nick, Sarah, Bonnie and Eddie curiously glanced around them as Sarah squeaked and pointed at a familiar site on the floor "Ooh Look Nick! Dango!" she exclaimed as Nick merely grunted at the site of these damn things, as he growled "Those fuckin' marshmallow's again" earning a hearty chuckle from Sarah. Sarah's laugh however soon turned into a squeak of excitement when she saw Rebecca sprint towards them, as she squealed "REBECCA!" as Rebecca went to embrace Nick.

"Oh Thank God... I thought you guys had died" she muttered into Nick's shoulder, however opening her eyes she caught a glance of Molly and asked "Whose this?" she asked of Nick.

"Oh sorry, I didn't introduce myself. I'm Betty Luke's ex wife, I've been a member of the cult tracking him down for revenge, but I had a change of heart and now I'm here" she responded in a deadpan tone, as Sarah laughed and Nick corrected her by stating "Her real name's Molly, she knew Kenny, Christa and Clem back in Savannah" Molly duly waved at Rebecca upon Nick's explanation.

"Is everyone okay though?" She asked of the group, as Bonnie shyly responded.

"Everyone's fine, look Rebecca I don't know why I took those damn things, I... Christa... just... I'm sorry okay? I shouldn't have run off" she mumbled sadly, as Rebecca was about to reply, before Nick piped up (with urgency in his tone) "Jesus Christ, are _you_ okay?" it took Rebecca a short while before she realised the hot headed man was staring at the blue bruises shaped like fingerprints, that circled around her neck, as she rubbed them and muttered "Oh... there nothing they..."

"Who did this too you!?" Nick snapped.

Rebecca sighed, the group had a lot to learn as she simply muttered "Gather everyone up Nick, me and Kenny... we've got a lot to tell you"

Nick looked at her puzzled as he asked "You and Kenny? What about...?"

"They're dead" Rebecca replied.

* * *

Clementine didn't know what was harder.

The group being gathered into the front room of the old house, Luke gently lowered the skins of the others into his own dug grave, before he proceeded inside, Kenny was there with an infant in his arms much to the shock of everyone who thought that Sarita wasn't that far along. But she was apparently she'd given birth to baby girl, she wanted to call Lilly, but Sarita bled out and died, her body was still upstairs.

Christa had died, she took an overdose of whatever drugs were in the basement upon hearing this Bonnie burst into a fresh round of tears and fled from the room, grief and guilt eating away at the redhead woman, as Clementine sat there feeling her arms and legs go numb. She felt Luke trying to comfort her but she didn't shed any tears. Christa, her guardian for 16 months was dead and gone and Sarita, who had taught her too hunt even when she only had one arm. Even when she was that far along in her pregnancy, Sarita still helped her. Both these motherly figures were gone and Clementine could only sit there and feel ever more helpless as Rebecca spoke on.

The cult leader had visited them, only at the words _"The One With The Second Chance" _did Clementine's head snap up abruptly, her senses returning to her, everyone appearing in much sharper detail. Only then did she notice a shocked Kenny interrogating Molly, she must have missed Kenny's reaction to seeing Molly again. She missed the details of what Rebecca had been saying about the "deal" only when Clementine heard that word, did she snap out of her grief stricken stupor, as her blood turned to ice.

"One with the second chance? That sounds crazy" Luke piped up.

"Apparently that someone will convince us to stay, that someone has betrayed the group" Rebecca informed him, as Clementine listened on silently her heart thumping in her ears, her world going dizzy. Was it her or was it Luke who was responsible for this so called betrayal? She didn't remember speaking to the cult at all.

_"It's me!"_

That voice from her dream, that was the cult leader, but what did it all mean?

What the hell was going on?


	39. The One With The Second Chance

**A/N: Sorry about the wait! (Uni work got on top of me, but now that's out the way I can make further progress on this story) anyway I appericate your patience and once again thank you all for your theories, reviews and continued support!**

**ffapathy- Loved your observations and theories especially the little twist you think I have planned with Lee and I liked how you quoted Beth (I have seen the show, poor Beth I think her death was simply thrown in for shock value, but that's just me) anyway you might be right you might be wrong, but (as you can guess from the title of this chapter) a lot will be revealed in this chapter.**

**Chameishida- As always loving your support and reviews and I hope this next chapter entertains you as (like I said above) a lot will be revealed this chapter.**

**Guest- First Lee, now Luke, I think I might just make the Lake the cult leader, (I'm joking, but that would be one hell of a twist) **

**transformersfan2013- With all that went down last chapter admittedly I completely forgot about the Rebecca and AJ reunion (I'll add a small section at the beginning of this chapter that shows the reunion and then it will be on to the classic group discussion/arguments as a lot will be revealed.**

**Transformer's g1's prime- Younger version of Carver and now Vince? Lee, Luke, Vince, Carver, Eddie, Stephanie... everyone is under suspicion, even those that are dead! Anyway cheers for your review and I appericate your support**

**Kristal Dynamite- Thanks once again and as for your question, the plot with the cult has remained the same from the beginning, as have a few key plot points (Stephanie crashing the truck, Molly and Nate returning, Vince dying at the Lake, The group ended up separated, Nick, Stef romance, Clem's dreams etc...) however saying that a hell of a lot has changed and sometimes an idea or event will crop up in my head while I'm writing the chapter, which links back perfectly with something else that's happened. So yeah quite a bit of this is Making up the story as I go, but the unplanned things have worked out surprisingly well.**

**JustSomeGuy23- Thanks for your review and I'm glad you pointed out the One with the second chance could be Bonnie, as you'll see in this chapter the group will grow increasingly suspicious of each other and the others didn't know where Bonnie was, or what she was doing.**

**Upside-Down Neopolitan Dreams- Where I get my ideas from? I don't know, I plan them out at the start as I try to think of awful situations to put the characters in to see how they would cope and what lengths they'd go too, to avoid losing everything. As ffapathy pointed out, the theme of this story is everyone trying to avoid Going To Ruin, but the more they try, the further to ruin they seem to go, but also redemption is a theme in this story as I don't want it too get too depressing.**

**and thanks everyone else for your kind words! okay on with the chapter...**

**P.S. Read back to Chapter 32, the opening dream applies in this chapter.**

* * *

Rebecca had just finished addressing Bonnie when she heard the wail in Eddie's arms. Her eyes rolled over to the light humoured man as he lifted his gaze, Eddie's and Rebecca's eyes locked before his gaze slowly fell to the bundle in his arms as Rebecca followed his gaze.

The bundle wailed again.

Rebecca's pupils doubled in size in the space of a second as Eddie's cheeks burned crimson in a sort of embarrassment as he held out AJ towards his mother.

"Here, you better have him back Rebecca, I'm shit at changing diapers" was all Eddie said.

Rebecca could scarcely believe it, she had some faint hope that her son was alive but she never actually expected... the rush of emotions upon seeing the chubby face of her son once again, overcome her. As tears spilled over her eyelids, as her brown eyes became reflective pools as she herself wailed in delight and scooped her son from Eddie's arms and held him to her face as he merely grunted and belched.

"Oh Alvin... Alvin... I thought you died... oh baby..." she sobbed in happiness, as Alvin merely gazed upon his mother as if she'd gone mad. Wearing one of those "Jeez Mum calm down, I'm fine" kind of expressions you'd find on a sulky teenager. Eddie himself stood there awkwardly, before he could turn away however Rebecca caught him by the hip, as she pulled him into a bone crushing hug.

"Oh... you!" she squealed into his shoulder as Eddie merely patted her back unsure of what to say at this time, he waited for Rebecca to speak again and so she did "I can't thank you enough!" she exclaimed in joy as Eddie merely scratched his ear and smiled sheepishly, his big brown eyes finding the cracks in the wooden floor.

"It was...nothing, really" he muttered quietly.

"Don't say that! You did an amazing thing... oh... you're an amazing man Eddie..."

Eddie felt butterflies swirl in his stomach at the compliment as a large smiled wormed itself onto his face, Nick and Molly watched on smiling slightly at the site of the happy reunion, whereas Bonnie smile was quite thin as an inner sadness engulfed her. Rebecca had trusted both of them to look after AJ, whereas Eddie had saved him from an icy lake and took great care of the infant, she had merely ran off, leaving her group behind on a suicidal run through the forest. She knew she wasn't strong like Eddie, she was a weak person and watching Eddie get the praise he deserved only made her feel more like unwanted trash.

"Well... I guess some things turned out okay"

The others whipped around at the sound of Kenny's voice, his face was impossible to read, but it looked as if he had stumbled out of the room he was in, his growing beard with flecks of blood on it, topless with even more blood running down his chest and torso with it littered on his wrists from where he tried to stem the flow of blood from Sarita's birth. At first glance, he looked like a homeless mad man, Nick recoiled slightly at the site before regaining his wits and asking the general "Are you okay?".

Kenny didn't reply for a while, he met Rebecca's gaze, her cool eyes inspected his seemingly dead one's as the man lifted a small bundle to his chest defensive manner, he almost seemed to be glaring at her in jealously. Ignoring Nick's question he spoke directly to Rebecca.

"Of course, there's always miracles for _you_" he spat.

"Kenny look at what's in your arms, you have a miracle too" Rebecca snapped back curtly, she was fed up of hearing Kenny's bullshit for the day and didn't want to argue with him again. At Rebecca's stern words Kenny did indeed look down at his baby daughter once again as Molly suddenly piped up and asked "Is that a baby?"

"What's it too you!?" Kenny snapped back instantly, as he shielded Lilly from some sort of invisible harm.

"Don't take all your shit out on me, only curious" Molly replied back airily, as Kenny blinked as if he was gazing at an alien, his eyes seemed to adjust somewhat as Molly's voice crashed over his eardrums. His eyes widened in shock as he managed to breathe out in broken speech "M-M-o-ol-ol-lly!"

"and now the redneck catches on" was all Molly had to say, as Kenny continued to stare at her, astounded at her presence.

* * *

With her son back in her arms and the group reunited, (well her family in Rebecca's eyes) she had a brand new lease of life, although she had to bring the group up to date with previous events. Although it wasn't pleasant recounting Sarita and Christa's deaths as well as the Cult leader's visit, she managed to do so. When she finished she took a deep breath as the others all blinked in surprise and shock.

"Well fuck" was an expected reply to Rebecca's story, coming straight from the hot headed Nick.

It was Sarah and Molly's turn to narrate next, (helped occasionally by Nick and Stephanie) nothing much seemed to happen to them (other than trying to follow a truck so they could steal it and get to Wellington) apparently the truck was in the possession of a Spanish woman who the group instantly identified as...

"Fucking Marisol!" Kenny roared.

"You know her then?" Molly asked.

"Her group betrayed our group and she attacked us..." Sarah explained, shivering slightly at the memory.

"Yeah, well it was your Spanish friend and some psycho who talks to himself with a blue baseball cap, didn't pick up on his name but the guy's an asshole and loaded with supplies sadly enough" Molly explained as Eddie felt himself go slightly numb, a truck? Blue baseball cap? No, it was coincidence there was absolutely no way in hell, that gork eyed psycho was still out there.

"What did this guy look like?" Eddie decided to ask as causally as he could.

"Hmm... brown-ish hair, big freaky green eyes bit of stubble on his face, about six, two, why do you ask? You don't know him do you?" Molly asked rather exasperated, she knew this was a small world now, but seriously? She'd be bumping into everyone she saw in Crawford sooner rather than later at this rate.

"No, just curious" Eddie replied, feeling his gut sink in his chest as he gulped. Molly's description matched Nate's to a tick.

"Anyway, their probably long gone by now so that's Plan A out of the window, Plan B is we get a fucking move on and walk it to Wellington and not wait here for Barney and friends to show up" Molly reasoned as the others nodded in agreement, well most of them did. Luke added to the conversation by uttering "Well, nothing much happened on our end. Other than Bo... well the person we found" Luke explained, correcting himself as he looked over at Bonnie, she dipped her head somewhat and sighed.

"So, from what you say you saw, they threw some random redhead woman into the centre of the circle and rip her to shreds. Just to make a placebo for you being dead to make Luke sad?" Kenny asked Bonnie in suspicion as she merely nodded her head.

"Look guys, I know it sounds crazy but I swear to God that is what happened, I passed out and I woke up like that!" Bonnie shouted, feeling slightly defensive as all eyes rested on her.

"It's a bit odd though, how you find us just after you wake up" Stephanie pointed out, as Bonnie felt her stomach turn to lead.

"I know it is, but I swear on all things holy I have nothing to do with this!" She protested in her defence, as Kenny snorted and bellowed "Your story sounds like bullshit Bonnie! They can't just sew someone's skin onto you and you stay passed out through all of that! There is no fucking way...!"

"Science proves that there is" Molly chipped in quietly, but no one heard her over Kenny.

"Everyone calm down!" Luke interjected desperately, fixating his sympathetic soft eyes on Bonnie as he murmured softly "She's been through enough guys, she doesn't need all this" at those moments Bonnie could have leaped up from the moth eaten sofa she was on and kissed Luke straight on the lips. But she restrained herself and managed to flash him a shy smile which he seemed to appericate.

"We can't start a witch hunt now, we need to keep moving" Eddie added.

"Yeah, well we ain't gonna be be movin, if we got some traitor reporting everything back to those freaks!" Kenny roared, beginning to lose his short temper as Clementine groaned aloud, she was not in the mood for this. But Kenny was a determined man and nothing was going to stop him from finding out who had seemingly betrayed the group to the cult.

"I thought you said there wasn't a traitor and that guy was messing with our heads" Rebecca pointed out.

"Yeah, I was only sayin' that to reassure myself and you there was no foul play in this group! But the more I think about it now, the more it makes sense!" Kenny was shouting as Clementine peered up nervously, he had that demented look in his eye once again and suddenly Clementine wasn't in the old house anymore, she was in the church once again. Kenny had lost it when Alvin Junior (or Duck) had been killed, Clementine could see the same out of control fire in his eyes as he clutched his daughter close to his chest. If she died then he would break... or maybe...

He already had.

"Well Kenny might actually be onto something here and his got a point" Stephanie said unexpectedly breaking into the conversation with her viewpoint, as Nick gawked at her and managed to say "Stef, don't encourage him..."

"One with the second chance..." Kenny muttered aloud cutting of Nick as the rest of the group nervously glanced at Kenny, he kept repeating that phrase as his dark eyes bored into every member of the group looking for any traces of suspicion or guilt in their shifty eyes. Clementine held his gaze for the longest period of time, trying hard not to flinch. Kenny finally turned away from her and spoke up.

"Okay I've been thinkin' who in this group just happens to show up in the middle of nowhere? Who also happens to know us?" all eyes found Molly at this point, who didn't seem to disturbed by the growing hostility building in the room "It's too much a God-damn coincidence for you to show up out of nowhere Molly! I've seen you scale up buildings in Savannah easily, no doubt you've been using your skills to spy on us and report back to headquarters!" Kenny's impressive conclusion seemed to fall on deaf ears as Molly merely yawned before looking back at him.

"Okay then genius, let's say your theory is true and I am betraying the group. If I was, why would I be the one with the second chance?" she asked as Kenny seemed to growl at her.

"I don't know, maybe they trapped you somewhere and you got a second chance to live when you joined them!" Kenny shouted.

"and the message on the skin cape? That was for me too even though I didn't know those people?" Molly inquired as a vein in Kenny's forehead seemed to throb as he roared back "I DUNNO! BUT I KNOW THAT YOU'RE THE TRAITOR! WE SHOULD CHUCK YOU OUT THE GROUP AND GET MOVIN'...!"

"Kenny! Calm down!" Rebecca snapped.

Kenny prepared to open his mouth again but Molly spoke up before he could.

"Look, I know it seems odd but... I'm not part of the cult, but I'm sure they led me here" she stated, as Clementine's heart rate seemed to accelerate as Stephanie asked "How?"

"Same trick they used with the horns, got me running through the woods a couple of days before I found you guys. Made me lose sight of the truck I was following, but then that Spanish chick... Marisol appears and I knew there would be more people around and heck I find you guys. I didn't make anything of the horns a few days ago, but looking at it now..." Molly trailed off her deep blue eyes scrunched shut in thought, as Kenny threw another spanner in the works.

"Yeah, well how would the cult know that we knew you? Or you knew us?" he demanded an answer and he got one in a very short space of time.

"Well...I..." Molly fumbled with her words slightly, turning pink before she managed to gulp and continue "I used to mutter your names sometimes, mainly Lee's really, just an... odd little habit of mine" she finished quickly, looking up at the stern faces around her, she inhaled before continuing.

"They must have made the link through that, they were probably listening to me, spying on me. If they were doing the same to you, then the names must have linked. I could have been talking about any Lee or Clementine or Kenny, or Christa but seeing as your group had three people in it with the exact same names and also mentioned a person called Lee, who you guys most likely spoke about, then it's pretty obvious they knew who I was and led me too you" she concluded as everyone in the dusty room stared at her in awe at her theory.

"T-they must have done the same with Christa" Clementine squeaked as all eyes found her, as the truth began to dawn on the 12 year old.

"Christa, the cult chased her to Bonnie and Mike's truck and they drove back here..." she finished there, as Bonnie gasped and shouted "Lilly too! She mentioned that her bandit group had been hunted down by the cult and it ain't no coincidence that she happens to find Nick and Sarah who can lead her straight back to Clementine..." the group looked around at each other, they were close to some sort of truth and they all knew it. Clementine herself was terrified all the links were coming back to her, the group were going to find out. Kenny was going to find out.

And... in his state she knew the one eyed man would hurt her.

"So, this cult has deliberately been bringing back people Clementine once knew, to do what?" Eddie asked.

"To help us to keep movin', to help us to survive, can anything be more motivating than having an old friend return to you? Look what Lilly did, she helped the group because she was smart, Molly's got skills in parkour from what I've heard and Christa helped Clem survive for 16 months. It's clear now..." Luke said racking his brain as Nick came up with the answer.

"Bonnie if what you're saying is true, then it's obvious the cult... or the cult leader wants us to move! and if there getting impatient then the rest of the cult are tired of following us and just want to gun us down! But the leader, he wants us to keep goin' even if his group is getting fed up of spying on us and playin' mind games with us. Added to the fact the leader came to the house alone, he has his own agenda" Nick explained as the group nodded, impressed at the somewhat stupid man making a fairly valid point.

"But he was telling us to stay! Telling us there was a traitor in the group! If he really wanted us to go on, then he wouldn't have told us about the one with the second chance! and instead told us the usual bullshit about joining his group...!"

"But there never was a traitor" Rebecca muttered, as all eyes rolled back to her, she was looking at AJ, but after the words left her mouth, she looked up at the group and repeated her words more clearly and more loudly "There never was a traitor, don't you get it? It's reverse psychology, it's why that guy is so hard to read because he uses that tactic all the time. Whatever he tells us it's lies, whatever he says he wants us to do the opposite! He came to visit us today Kenny to get us moving! He knew we'd tell the rest of the group" she concluded as everyone seemed finally content with her answer.

Expect for one.

"No, there is still a traitor here. There is somebody with a second chance with us and I know who it is" Stephanie said tonelessly. Clementine felt herself freeze up, she felt her heart seemingly jump into her mouth, as beads of sweat began to drench her clothing. She tried to control her fast breathing, she could feel Stephanie's icy cold eyes resting on her and it made her shiver.

"Clementine, you need to tell us everything" Stephanie said.

Before Clementine could dissolve in pure panic, Kenny's explosion of "BULLSHIT!" seemed to calm her down a little, the group itself all glared at the young raven haired woman, for daring to make such an outrageous suggestion.

"ARE YOU NUTS STEF? FUCK, YOU CAN'T ACCUSE CLEMENTINE OF THAT! SHE'S A LITTLE GIRL!" Nick roared in pure anger at her, although Stephanie felt herself shake once again, she refused to drop her point because she knew in her gut that she was right.

"DO ANY OF YOU USE YOUR EYES!? I SAW HOW CLEM REACTED WHEN SHE SAW THAT SKIN CAPE! I KNEW IT WAS FOR HER AND THE WAY SHE REACTED, SHE NEARLY FAINTED IN CASE YOU'VE ALL FORGOTTEN! CLEM IS THE ONE WITH THE SECOND CHANCE!" Stephanie roared.

"SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH!" Kenny bellowed.

"NO FUCKING WAY WAS IT CLEM!" Luke added in support.

"It can't have been Clem, but what about you Kenny? You knew those people too, you knew me just as well as Clementine did. How do we know it wasn't you?" Molly piped up.

"BECAUSE IT FUCKING WASN'T, ALRIGHT!? YOU THINK I'D BETRAY SARITA AND THE BABY!?" Kenny demanded of her.

"NO, BUT YOU SEEM TO JUST LOVE PLACING THE BLAME ON OTHER PEOPLE! YOU CAN'T JUST RULE OVER US KENNY!" Molly screamed back at him, losing her temper.

"THEN FUCKING GET OUT THE GROUP THEN IF YOU DON'T LIKE HOW IT'S RUN! FUCKING LEAVE LIKE YOU ALWAYS DO! GO SNUGGLE UP TO HILDA OR PRETEND LEE'S A TREE OR SOMETHING...!"

"Don't" Molly warned dangerously, her eyes burning.

"OR WHAT!?" Kenny spat.

"OR WE HAVE A PROBLEM HERE KENNY!" Stephanie shouted in Molly's defence, before she continued "LOOK I DON'T WANT TO CAUSE TROUBLE HERE! BUT...!"

"BUT YOU FUCKING ARE! STOP TRYING TO ACT LIKE LILLY! YOU'LL NEVER BE LIKE HER STEF! YOU'LL JUST BE ONE PLACING BLAME ON LITTLE GIRLS BECAUSE YOU THINK YOU'RE SO CLEVER! WHEN YOU'RE REALLY FUCKING NOT! I MEAN HOW THE HELL CAN WE TRUST YOUR OPINION AND YOUR WITS WHEN YOU'RE THE ONE WHO CRASHED THE FUCKING TRUCK AND GOT US STUCK OUT HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!" Kenny ranted, as Stephanie looked as if she hit a brick wall, her face stunned from the barrage of insults from Kenny. Seeing his love's distress, Nick swooped in for the rescue.

"YEAH HOW CAN WE TRUST THE OPINION OF A GUY WHO STEALS MEDS FROM THE GROUP! AND GUESS FUCKING WHAT KENNY YOU STILL FAILED! SARITA'S DEAD! SHE'S FUCKING DEAD AND YOU KNOW WHAT? FOR WHAT YOU BOTH DID TO THE GROUP, I'D SAY KARMA WAS A BITCH AND THAT YOU DESERVED IT...!"

Nick knew the second he finished speaking those words of pure anger and hatred were words he would regret for the rest of his life. He stumbled for an apology but it was too late, he had tipped Kenny past his breaking point. Kenny's eyes dilated to an enormous size as he heard his failures and his darkest fears get spat back at him so venomously. Rage and pure hatred clouded his mind as he snatched for a nearby gun that lay on the sofa and trained it directly on Nick's chest.

Sarah screamed, Clementine felt herself go numb as the noisy room went as silent as stone, everyone was frozen in place.

"You wanted the traitor to die Stef, well then I'll do it for you. I'll kill him" Kenny growled, as a few tears fell from Stephanie's eyes.

"I didn't want this... I j-just wanted C-clemt-tine to tell- u-us about..." Stephanie sobbed.

"BULLSHIT! SHE AIN'T NO TRAITOR! BUT THIS PIECE OF SHIT IS!" Kenny bellowed, spitting all over a frightened looking Nick who could barely speak, his whole body clogged with guilt at what he had just said to Kenny. Stephanie guilt poured from every inch of her body, why did she have to bring it up? Then Nick wouldn't have felt the need to defend her, to.. say things that would push Kenny past the breaking point.

"You! YOU FUCKING ACCUSE ME OF STEALING MEDS WHO JUST STOOD BY WATCHED IT ALL HAPPEN!?" Kenny demanded taking one step closer to Nick.

"STOP FIGHTING!" Sarah screamed helplessly, before burying her head in Rebecca's lap, everyone was too afraid to move, afraid that some action would cause Kenny to pull the trigger. The only sounds came from Lilly gurgling in her father's grip, as Kenny himself used his one hand to hold the shotgun in his hands at Nick's chest. A shot at point blank range (especially around the heart area) would be enough to kill a man easily. If shot in the stomach Nick may have gotten lucky like he did last time.

But this time there was no chance. Kenny's aim was dead on target.

"YOU RIPPED THAT RUSSIAN KID APART, RIGHT IN FRONT OF SARAH! DOES THAT MAKE YOU HAPPY!? Kenny roared breaking through the silence, the barrel of the gun now placed on Nick's chest as he gulped in pure horror as a tear finally escaped from his closed eyelids.

"N-no" he sobbed like the scared little boy he felt he was.

"You've been fucking this group up since day one boy, you've been with the cult somehow, betraying us slowing us down. Making us suffer, I think it's time to end this..." Kenny muttered darkly his finger squeezing on the trigger.

"IT IS ME!"

Kenny leapt back, his gun remained unfired as Clementine leapt up from the sofa and ran up between the two men. Now was the time, if she didn't speak up then Nick would die. She had to let the group know about her second chance.

"I'm the one with the second chance, Stephanie was right it was me" Clementine muttered as Kenny lowered his gun slightly, Clementine felt all eyes on her, as she gulped and explained everything...

"Remember back at Howe's, remember when I betrayed you Luke, so Carver found out about the radio's. I did that because if we went ahead with the plan we would have left the hardware store, we'd have never have teamed up with Wyatt, Eddie, Stephanie, Shel or Vince. Only you came with us Bonnie. Kenny you killed Carver before we escaped through the herd with Jane using the walker guts method..."

"Clem..." Kenny muttered, but Clementine continued letting it all pour out.

"And then Carlos got shot in the herd and died, and Sarita got ripped apart in the herd after she got bit... we all got separated and then we found you Nick dead on a fence as a walker trying to look for help for Sarah who was in a trailer house after Carlos died. I had to put you down" she said sadly gazing at Nick, as he gulped unsure of what to make of this all, but remembering vividly the time he was stuck on a fence, near a trailer park and Sarah had saved him.

"Sarah, you didn't move after your dad died, I left you to die and you got ripped apart by walkers, I'm... I'm sorry"

Sarah stared at her in horrified disbelief.

Then... then I stole meds from Arvo for Rebecca, she gave birth to AJ, but a few days later you died too Rebecca and Arvo returned with his group, they surrounded us, Natasha, Vitali Arvo and some other guy, Christa wasn't with them, but there was a gunfight and... and... Mike, Bonnie and Luke died, along with all the Russians" Clementine continued to explain, as Luke murmured "Clementine..." but he didn't say anything else. As Clementine continued.

"Jane left the group at this point, it was just me, AJ and Kenny left. We trekked to a church Kenny and that's where AJ died, and you lost it. You stayed behind and tried to kill the walkers, you told me it was over and then they killed you too"

Kenny was gazing at her intently now.

"I... went alone through a snow-storm before a walker bit me, I was too injured to move so I shot myself... and then I woke up, back in Howe's with all those memories in my head" Clementine inhaled before she ploughed on "So... it's me. I'm the one the cult leader wants, he knows about me somehow, he knows I'm the one with the second chance. He taunting me because I couldn't save the others like I saved you guys" Clementine concluded, the room was as silent as a stone.

BANG!

Clementine hunched over, pain engulfing her small being as blood leaked from her stomach.

Kenny had pulled the trigger.

"NOOOOO!" Rebecca wailed in horror, as Kenny stumbled back, "You... you think you fucking saved us! FUCK YOU CLEMENTINE! SARITA'S DEAD AND YOU'RE MAKING UP FUCKING BULLSHIT! FU... FUCCCCCCCCCCK!" Kenny bellowed, falling backwards a look of shock hollowed onto his skinny face, regret already driving him far beyond the breaking point, Clementine felt herself fall to the floor, as figures appeared in her vision.

"...Clementine! Hey! Can you hear me Clementine! Clem! It's me! It's me! It's me!" Nick was shouting at her as her vision blurred, a sense of deja vu overcoming her, she had this dream before and now it was coming to life and she knew what was coming next, Nick's voice died away as a more sinister and more business like voice took it's place.

_"It's me"_

She assumed that was the cult leader, she assumed it was him. Forgetting about who else was a businessman, forgetting who else could speak like that during meeting's at Howe's. Now there was a sinister tone in the kindly man's voice, Clementine was wrong, the voice she heard wasn't the cult leader's.

It was Luke, he muttered it, glaring openly at Kenny.

"I'm the one with the second chance Kenny, what happened to Clem happened to me too. Shoot me because I was the one who betrayed the group, I spoke to the cult leader, when I was by a stream. He knew what killing Bonnie would do to me, it made me depressed because it was the same way it happened last time. Made me feel like a failure and he took advantage of that, he didn't tell me anything about his group wanted, but..." Luke paused there, as all eyes found him, even Clementine weakly raised her head, hardly daring to believe it.

"... he said he'd let the group go. If I handed him over AJ, and Sarita's baby. He doesn't want them in our group, he feels like it too dangerous to be here. He wants to raise the next generation knowing nothing but the cult's ways. I said yes, because... because he promised me the cult would never kill Clementine... you don't understand... any of you! I CAN'T LOSE HER!" Luke suddenly bellowed, as he took a step towards Clementine, tears pouring from his eyes as Kenny put the gun back in his hands as he laid Lilly down on the sofa.

"She's gonna die Luke, and it serves you fucking right! YOU FUCKING TRAITOR! SELLING OUT THE KIDS TO KEEP CLEM TO YOURSELF! YOU MADE ME SHOOT HER! WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING YOU FUCKING COWARD SCUMBAG! YOU...!" Kenny was ranting as Luke merely sobbed further.

"I was scared, I didn't think anyone would believe me, If I... I couldn't... I..."

"Were you going to take AJ and Lilly to them?" Rebecca cut through, appalled at Luke.

"I... yeah. He wanted us to move, I'd grab the kids when everyone was sleepin' and take them straight to him, in return his already directing that same truck Molly saw towards us. By nightfall it should be here, he promised me his cult would take care of the drivers and I need to give him the kids Kenny or else... his gonna kill us all"

There were no words to be said.

"Save her, she's all I have" Luke wept gazing at Sarah who was trying to treat Clementine's injuries.

"LILLY IS ALL I FUCKING HAVE! AJ IS ALL REBECCA HAS! YOU SELFISH PIECE OF SHIT! YOU HAVE NICK AS WELL! YOU FUCKING... FUCK...!"

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! YOU AIN'T SEEN WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN TO US IF WE DON'T MAKE THIS DEAL! I'VE SEEN IT! I'M NOT MAKING THE SAME MISTAKES KENNY! LIKE CLEM HAD TO MAKE THE DEAL WITH CARVER, IT SEEMS LIKE A BAD CHOICE BUT IT WILL BENEFIT US LATER ON! I SWEAR IT...!"

"FUCKING NEVER SEEING MY KID AGAIN, HOW WILL THAT BENEFIT US!? HOW THE FUCK WILL IT BENEFIT ME!? YOU...!"

"LUKE, RUN!" Nick roared on instinct.

He did so, instantly ducking and diving out of the door to the front garden, night was already falling as he stumbled across the lawn. An enraged Kenny hot on his heels, the tension between them had finally reached breaking point, Kenny fired a shot that missed Luke by millimetres.

"GeT BaCk hERe!" Kenny roared, his sanity broken completely.

It was Kenny versus Luke for real this time, and this time, one of them was going to end up dead.


	40. The Shaky Stones

**A/N: Okay I won't be answering reviews individually here, as this chapter is going to be a massive one and it's where everything comes together and shit truly hits the fan (like Chapter 20 with the herd and then Chapter 30 with the Lake, anyone notice a pattern?) however because of what I have planned this chapter I can say that certain explanations and flashbacks may have to be put on hold for next chapter (when the dust settles somewhat, but who will be alive at the point?)**

**Either way I can see the Kenny VS Luke thing has divided opinion somewhat, although Kenny is now hated, Luke isn't exactly a saint here, some of you (ffapathy) gave great reasoning to support his actions and I'm glad you can see the morale "grey" area with him, he isn't perfect but he isn't a cold blooded killer either and is Kenny really as bad as he made himself out to be? Shooting Clem was a dick move but he tends to react emotionally to a lot of things, so the fight between them will be interesting to write.**

**Anyway, hope this chapter entertains and I'll see you all soon!**

* * *

Marisol and Nate had a fairly peaceful day on the road, hardly any dialogue was exchanged between as they drove on in silence, Marisol was reassured that they were well on the way to Wellington now but her thoughts were mixed. Had the cult taken over Wellington? Even if it was a safe zone her and Nate would have to lie to get into the place, to conceal their past crimes? Would Nate be willing to do that? Could Nate be sane for her?

In their current states and track records she doubted the pair of them would be allowed in Wellington to mingle with other more sane survivors. But maybe Wellington was run by madmen? Maybe it was full of sick, just like the lodge of people her group had left behind. The warped faces of those struck down by the flu appeared more frequently in the Spanish woman's dreams, the guilt of her crime eating away at her. She doubted she would sleep peacefully in Wellington.

and the biggest question was Nate himself. Would she stay with him? Did she actually like the mad-man? She couldn't tell at the moment, yes he was rough with her and could be cruel. But then again he could have left her to die at the side of the road when they first met, he gave her food and the shelter she craved. Whereas... she gave him company. Maybe that's all he wanted, she knew that Nate had not been a bad man before or this, he may have changed but underneath that barrier of insanity, the friendly family man was still there. Deep inside of him, sometimes when addressing his long lost family members Nate's crazed eyes would sometimes soften and Marisol could almost envision who he once was.

"Nate" she asked aloud.

"What is it?" he called back, his eyes peeled on the empty road ahead, weeds were beginning to seep through the cracks in the gravel, so even though the ride was peaceful the road was becoming something of rocky ride no matter how slow the truck was going.

"When we... reach Wellington, do you wanna like... stay together" she muttered nervously, expecting him to fly into a rage or something like that.

Nate thought long and hard about the sudden question, yes he had planned to get to Wellington but then he would be surrounded by others. Other men who could be his friends and other women, maybe even more beautiful than Marisol. Marisol knew he was insane maybe he could have killed her and started completely anew in Wellington, all crimes forgotten. But... he couldn't erase the dead from his mind, his family, his friends, Russell... they all clung to him and he couldn't shake them off, maybe... maybe a part of him wanted Marisol around. Someone who was actually alive who he could confide in.

"Well I know you're sticking by me, I have that effect on the ladies" he mused, as Marisol's eyes lightened up.

"Sure you do" Marisol said sarcastically, yet she chuckled lightly at Nate's comment, as he turned around and smiled at her. For one of the only times, actually happy in her company.

Then Marisol's eyes dilated in fear, as she jabbed her finger at the road and screamed "LOOK OUT!"

Nate looked up in the nick of time, a solid line of people in walker skins were just raising their guns to fire on the truck with an loud curse Nate instantly swerved the truck off the road and into the dark pine forest to the left of him, as the sound of gunfire echoed behind him.

"FUCK! I THOUGHT WE LOST TRACK OF THOSE FUCKERS!" Nate roared, his knuckles white from how tight he was holding onto the steering wheel, as the truck bobbed up and down as it rolled across the uneven forest floor.

"NATE TURN RIGHT! THERE'S MORE OF THEM OVER THERE!" Marisol screamed in horror, pointing to the left where the black silhouettes of more of the cult members lifted large guns in the direction of the truck...spotting them Nate steered the truck to the right, violent twists and turns sent Marisol flying around the back of the truck as Nate struggled to avoid incoming trees, trying as hard as he could to avoid any more of the cult members, directing his truck away from the sound of those dreaded horns.

"We get deep enough in the woods and we should lose em!" Nate exclaimed to a white faced Marisol after what must have been an hour of two of stomach churning panic and endless horns going off. Marisol thought if they kept on driving they should have been okay, the truck had avoided damage they could lose the cult if kept on driving.

However both were unaware that the cult (as they had done to so many others, a number of times) were leading them somewhere. Failing to kill them, they could still make sure the truck ended up at it's final destination.

"NATE LOOK OUT FOR THAT HOUSE!" Marisol screamed suddenly, Nate turned around too late, trees were narrow and easy to swerve past, but a full on wooden wall of an old house was impossible to avoid and Nate only had seconds to get his truck to move in any other direction. He had no chance.

"OH SHIT...!" He bellowed, clinging onto the steering wheel as Marisol clutched the back of his seat with all of her force, Nate cursed his luck, why the hell was their a house in the middle of the woods. "Goddamn hermits!" he thought to himself, bracing himself for the collision.

Either the truck was going to fast, or the wall had been corroded to hell, because rather than the truck crumpling into twisted metal, instead it burst through the weak wall of the house before drawing to a stop. Nate and Marisol were thrown around the truck at the force of the collision as hundreds of tiny bits of wood flew across the dark room they had crashed into. Larger pieces of debris crashed against the thin walls, weakening them further as trickles of dust leaked onto the hood of the truck from above, the celling now slumping slightly at a dangerous angle.

Nate looked up and breathed again, massaging his forehead "You alright!?" he called back to a shaken Marisol who replied (with a very pronounced gulp) "I'm fine" Nate knew his windscreen was cracked but not broken, neither were any of the windows. Although the tyres were probably burst and Nate knew the truck wasn't moving, the cult were behind him so they couldn't flee that way.

"Grab whatever you can Marisol! Were hiding and holding out here!" Nate roared at her, the anger in his voice made her obey instantly without questioning him. If they could hole themselves into a small room in the house... they could hide from the cult. Maybe with the weapons Nate had... they could actually survive this.

Coughing due to the clouds of brown-ish coloured dust swirling around the truck, the pair of them picked up as many guns as they could carry, along with some explosives that Nate had gathered (from where, Marisol didn't want to know) but he had grenades, Molotov's and dozens of belts to carry them with.

"I've always wanted to use these" Nate murmured stroking a large gun and the grenades on his belt, a crazed look returning to his eye, Marisol gulped and held her own weapons close to her chest. Years of surviving the apocalypse had taught her how to use a gun like a pro, but explosives? What the hell was Nate planning? To blow the whole house down?

Just as Marisol and Nate exited the truck, they saw a figure through the dust clouds.

* * *

Nick had bolted out of the door merely seconds after Kenny had left, trying to murder his best friend, while the rest of the group remained circled around Clementine, Rebecca was now carrying a wailing Lilly, trying to calm the child. While Eddie held AJ close to his chest, the group were frozen in place. Muttering shocked words to themselves over what had just happened. Weeping, or else frozen where they stood.

Sarah shakily wrapped bandages over Clementine's chest, having pulled so many bullets out of people by this point, she was something of an expert in this field, managing to pull three small circular shaped silver bullets from Clementine's stomach, as the 12 year old groaned in pain. Sarah used up the meds she had applying some sort of cream to Clementine's blood drenched stomach. The cream made Clementine grit her teeth in agony, her eyes still watering. She could feel a skinny, freezing hand clutching her own.

"Just hang in here... you're... you're gonna be okay..." came the southern drawl of Bonnie a world away, she couldn't see the others but she knew they must have been close. She felt like the bandages Sarah was applying to her stomach were more like damp cloths, she gulped as she felt bile rise in her throat. (At least she hoped it was bile and not blood) she was in so much pain... was she dead? Was her vision starting to sharpen slightly? Was she okay? Her mind was numb, Kenny had shot her. Kenny.

Kenny, the man she had been with so much through. Even in her pre-life he hadn't descended to this. Clementine choked back a sob as she thought back to her old friend. Maybe she should have let Sarita die back at Howe's, yes Kenny would have still been depressed just like he had done the first time, but then he would have grown more emotionally attached to her instead of Sarita. Clementine was alive, she could have kept Kenny stable. But no, she went and kept Sarita alive and Kenny had grown closer to her and the thought of his new family, now that had been cruelly taken from him (based on his failure to get meds) Kenny had gone mad in grief.

His own crimes achieved nothing as they thought he would, Clementine realised that (in the long run) keeping Sarita alive was a mistake. Yes it gave happiness to Kenny, but for how long? A year? and now... watching him become Carver 3.0 or Vince 2.0 hurt her more than anything. And now he and Luke were out there... going to kill each other and she was lying here hopelessly.

Luke.

She couldn't believe what he done, betraying the group to keep her safe. She wasn't coping with it well, yes he knew he had done it for her... but... she felt disgusted with him. After all of their heart to heart's the man she saw as her older brother went and did this behind her back? and that whole second chance thing... Clementine had vowed to protect Luke no matter what, besides she still needed to know more about his "second chance" he couldn't die. She'd be lost without him. But Clementine knew Kenny, he'd kill Luke.

She couldn't let it happen.

She sat there, about to get up, about to run after them despite her blurry eyesight and agonizing stomach pains, she had to chase after them, she didn't care if the rest of the group thought her mad for admitting her second chance to them. She didn't care if they wanted to keep her here to help treat her wounds, she was going out there whether they liked it or not...

BANG!

The house shook, a tremendous gust of air swept through the corridors sending everyone flying backwards, Clementine felt herself roll of the sofa she been cropped up on, as the pairs of feet scurried past her. The 11 year old rose to her feet, her stomach pains crippling her, but she stood up and sprinted towards the blurry form of the front door. Dust engulfed the space behind her as she heard the group behind her yell and scream in fear. No one seemed to stop her and in this sudden distraction she had managed to blindly stumble away.

"Lu-Luke! K-Kenny!" she squeaked weakly, feeling the cool night air slap at her face as she stomach gave her spasms of agony. Gritting her teeth and ignoring the hellish pain, she stumbled onwards using each passing tree as a sort of crutch to hold her upright. Continuing to shout the names of the men that meant so much to her... she had no idea where she was. Distant noises of horns and screams echoed in her ears, as she walked further and further away from the old house and into the pitch black woods.

She would find them. She had too.

* * *

Molly was first to wave away the particles of dust, as Eddie bellowed "WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK WAS THAT!?" so taking the bearded man's question into account Molly curiously investigated the scene, entering a room to see a massive hole in the wall and...

Her heart leaped, her so called "husband" was right. The cult had directed the truck she was after here and it still looked in good shape! She yelled back to the group in glee "Our ride's here!" as she heard Eddie sprint down the corridor towards her, looks like they even dealt with the drivers and...

Oh no, scratch that the two drivers were emerging from the dust cloud. Loaded with weapons, "fantastic" Molly muttered at herself sarcastically as the dust cloud cleared. Eddie came up next to her just as Nate and Marisol came into full view.

For a second that lasted an entirety Nate and Eddie stared at each other dead in the eyes. Before Eddie stumbled back, horrified as Nate's expression switched to that of psychopathic anger, his eyes betrayed the anger, but his mouth lifted in a creepy smile.

"Hey Eddie! Nice to see you again!" He called to the man, as Eddie felt his heart about to explode out of his chest. No... no way...

"You know this guy?" Molly asked him, as Rebecca and Stephanie ran next to them and observed the scene.

"I...I was in a group with him a while ago, I... made a mistake" he admittedly shamefully, as Nate laughed before screaming angrily "YOU SHOT MY FUCKING BEST FRIEND! YOU FUCKING IDIOT! ALL THIS TIME I'VE STILL BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU AND NOW... KARMA... IS... GOING... TO... BE...!" Nate pulled something out of his belt, smiling insanely as Marisol eyed him nervously.

"How the hell are you still alive!?" Stephanie snapped at the Spanish woman, the two recognised each other, as Marisol knew which group she had bumped into now. Her brown eyes narrowed in hostility as she angrily muttered back "I could ask you the same question" as guns were lifted, shots were about to be fired...

"SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND!" Nate roared suddenly, he whipped on his match to fast, everyone had a mere second to dive away as the lit Molotov soared across the room at Eddie's face, the bearded man ran as he had never ran in his life, pushing past Rebecca and sweeping through the living room as he felt the searing heat from behind him.

Marisol's panicked exclamation of "ARE YOU INSANE!" went unanswered by Nate as the Molotov exploded on the spot, sending flames spreading around the wooden house. and because the house was wooden and as dry as a bone the flames spread far too fast. Molly, Rebecca and Stephanie disappear behind a wall of orange flames, Nate laughed and leapt into the fire. Smoke was already filling the room as Marisol coughed and croaked "Nate!" yet she was met with no answer.

The flames roared, springing upwards and roaring as Marisol fell backwards, she was suddenly no longer worried about Nate. But with the fires approaching she only cared about herself, she was desperate to get out of this furnace of a room, so she blindly passed the truck and gulped the fresh cold night air of the pine forest.

Nate could die in there for all she now cared, maybe she did like him but setting off a Molotov in that house... she shrugged her head. Revenge was going to get him nowhere as she had found out.

* * *

Luke knew Kenny was hot on heels, the Floridian man fired blindly gunshots ripping the bark of trees and Luke ducked and dived cold sweat coating his entire body, he leapt over a tangle or roots and ducked behind a large pile of bushes. Certain he had lost Kenny, he heard the insane man shout "FUCK!" loudly and in the corner of his vision he saw a gun get thrown violently to the floor.

So Kenny had used up all of his ammo? Luke sighed in relief as he pulled his own small pistol out. He prayed to God that his bullets would kill Kenny, Kenny was out for blood and Luke wished he could have stayed to explain himself. Of course he regretted selling out the kids to the cult, but everyone would be alive. But he was too concerned about Clementine and Kenny was too enraged with him for the southern man to finish his full explanation.

How the hell had it come to this?

Luke sighed and inhaled peering out of the bushes and aiming his pistol at the spot Kenny was.

Except... he wasn't there.

"Hey" came a voice from behind him, Luke felt his stomach turn to stone but there was no time.

Kenny leapt on him, sending Luke's pistol spiralling into the undergrowth quite a few feet away losing sight of the gun, Kenny managed to grab a startled Luke by the throat and threw him against a tree as if he were a rag doll. Luke gasped in shock, feeling the wind get blown out of him as something cracked in his back leaving him in agony as he withered on the floor.

"Get the fuck up, traitor!" Kenny roared, as Luke's vision swam, he suddenly and violently pulled by his hairs to his feet, feeling a few of hairs get ripped off his scalp and felt a torrent of warm blood run down his forehead.

"FUCK YOU!" Kenny roared blindly, Luke had no way to stop the punch that followed, he felt something snap as blood rained from his noise, his face was now aching, as Kenny punched him again. This time Luke felt his feet sway as a spat out blood and two loose teeth, he wouldn't stand for this. A sudden anger arose within him as Luke managed to lift his leg and use all of his force to hit Kenny where it hurt. Kenny gasped, bending over as he released Luke from his grip. Stumbling slightly, Luke's fist connected with Kenny's face, sending the hot-headed man stumbling to the floor.

"Now... fuck... you..." Luke panted, shakily reaching the machete on his back, as he stumbled towards Kenny, from where he lay in the wet mud, Luke raised the machete above his head...

As Kenny looked up and kicked the younger man's feet, Luke tumbled violently to the floor and straight into the black sludge of mud, that weighed down on his clothes instantly, his machete slid from his hand, shaking his dizzying vision. Luke tried to rise to his feet, but to his horror he saw Kenny was already on his feet and had picked up the machete Luke had planned to use on him.

"N...!" Was all Luke got out charging at Kenny, (more like stomping due to the mud) before Kenny slashed his own machete through the air, it's cold metal handle ripping open the skin of Luke's stomach as he roared in agony, however he didn't stop running as he dragged Kenny down to the floor with him, on top of the older man, Luke punched at Kenny's face blindly, pushing down on his injured eye as Kenny roared in agony... Kenny's legs thrashed wildly.

One of them finding Luke's private part, as Luke wheezed and felt the strength zap away from him, Kenny took advantage of this, he grabbed Luke's right arm and twisted it until it snapped. Luke roared like a wounded lion, as he held his limp arm with his left one, tears falling from his eyes... his whole body roaring agony...

But Kenny wasn't done.

Having the upper hand, Kenny managed to get to his feet and kicked Luke in the face, another tooth went flying from Luke's mouth as he fell into the blanket of soft mud below him, his face already disappearing into the black sludge, as Kenny pressed a bony knee against Luke's chest, as the younger man scrunched his eyes shut in agony as Kenny twisted on one of Luke's thrashing legs. It snapped in a similar manner to how his arm snapped. His leg went limp in the mud, as Kenny turned Luke over, he couldn't speak as he was in that much pain.

"This is what fucking happens when you cross me!" Kenny roared as he pushed the back of Luke's head into the mud, Luke thrashed as wildly as he could, trying to lift his head above the mud as he coughed the stuff out of his system but he grew weaker by the second.

"FUCKING TRAITOR! YOU AIN'T EVER TOUCHIN' CLEM AND THE KIDS AGAIN! I'LL MAKE SURE YOU DIE HERE! LIKE THE FUCKING PIG YOU ARE!" Kenny bellowed, pushing Luke's head under the mud once again, the young man lifted his head once again, he coughed before he managed to splutter something at Kenny.

"Ould... hey...be...appy...now...enny"

Kenny stopped, his rage stopping as he held onto Luke, he muttered the same phrase, but more clearly this time.

"Would they be happy now Kenny?" he gulped and continued "Kajtaa, Duck, Sarita, Clem and Lee?" he questioned of the man, Kenny felt his rage ebb away slightly as he looked at his bloodied and mud drenched fingers and the completely beaten down form of Luke.

That regret, he shouldn't have felt it for a traitor, but Luke was helpless, he had completely destroyed the younger man, leaving him as a weeping mess in the mud.

Would Lee be happy? Would they all? No. The monster he was now, wasn't the old Kenny.

* * *

"WHERE'S CLEMENTINE!?"

Sarah had roared this question over the roaring fire that quickly engulfed the house, her friend had vanished from the sofa they were on and the rest of her friends had disspeared into the flames, she was alone as she cried and managed to blindly stumble out into somewhere cold.

She opened her eyes, she had managed to escape the burning house, she gulped and coughed wiping soot over her form as she crawled away from the lantern of a house in the middle of the woods. Rising to her feet and wincing at the burns on her arms, her blurry managed to detect a distant fleeing form.

"Stephanie!?" she yelled in glee glad to see that one of her friends had escaped the fire as well. The figure she ran up to had long hair and a curvy womanly figure.

But it wasn't Stephanie.

The figure turned around, even with her poor eyesight Sarah could tell this was the form of the Spanish woman who had attacked her, who had sent her men too... she gulped and did the Spanish woman as she uncertainly pushed Sarah to the ground, as Sarah blankly muttered "It's you" Marisol didn't respond to her words.

"You... you attacked me. You... you're a bad person!" Sarah roared starting to get angry, as Marisol trained one of the many guns on her on Sarah's skinny form.

"Bitch shut the fuck up" Marisol spat, her tough façade put on, as Sarah gulped, trying not to be unnerved by the gun in her face.

"Why do you have be so mean! Why did you send those men to rape me! What the hell is wrong with you!" Sarah shouted at her cold Spanish woman, as Marsiol knew she had to keep on a tough front, she escape here alive. Surviving was all that mattered now, she could pull the trigger and kill this bad memory of a girl. Who cared what she did? Marisol had to get to Wellington, she couldn't be human, not anymore.

"That was for Anne! and you know it!" Marisol screamed back.

"WHAT DID IT ACHIEVE!? ARE YOU HAPPY WITH YOURSELF!" Sarah bellowed losing her temper, as Marisol sighed.

"It didn't achieve anything... but... then again you have to be hard to survive don't you?" Marisol told her, as Sarah listened on as Marisol continued "You gotta betray and use people if you want to survive and I just... I just want to live. Other people, there either too nice or they'll betray you in some way. I used to think I could trust people but..." she looked back at the burning house and thought of a now fully insane Nate. He couldn't let his anger go, so it's best she just left him "... they always fuck you up in the end" Marisol concluded, smug with herself.

"No, you're wrong" Sarah spoke, her voice getting stronger as the girl continued.

"Even if it hurts... even if other people can do bad things, you should never give up faith in others, I never will! No matter what they do to me! Because I know that unlike you, I have friends! I have friends who care about me! Who love me! I'm not giving up all of that just to survive! You... you need to realise that!" Sarah lectured a unfazed Marisol.

"Such corny, bullshit-y words. You're an idiot who hasn't learned anything during this apocalypse have you!?" she demanded of Sarah who merely held her gaze, before Marisol continued "With a naive attitude like that, you're going to die..." Marisol prepared to pull the trigger.

But Sarah was right, even if her friends had done bad things they still came back for her. Nick killed Arvo, but he protected her, Clementine shot Josh, to protect her. Maybe their intentions were wrong, but Sarah's intention was wrong when she left Alex for the walkers, she was as guilty as they were. They were all human, they all did something wrong at some point. Sarah's growing understanding of the human nature made her realise she was right, her friends would protect her and she would protect them, no matter what they did.

And she was right of course.

Marisol only heard the sound of the truck at the last second, he whipped her head around just as the truck slammed into the Spanish woman, her ribs broke instantly as she pulled under the car, the tyres snapping her skull open and showering Sarah with dollops of warm blood. A surprised Sarah watched as the truck skidded to a halt, as she ran up to greet her saviour.

Stephanie was behind the wheel, she ran Marisol down and killed her when she saw Marisol holding Sarah at gunpoint. Being a klepto it was easy enough to grab the keys of the car from that insane guy in the fiery madness. She was the potential cause of Clementine getting shot, she couldn't sit around and watch the same thing happen to Sarah. She had to act, to do something right for once.

Even if it was murder.

_"and that, is how you crash a truck the right way"_ she told herself.

* * *

Eddie gulped, unsure of whether or not this plan would work he had fled to the basement and since AJ was crying at the heat of the flames he had left the crying baby by the staircase as he hid behind a overturned table. He knew that Nate was following him and sure enough he heard the insane man creep down the stairs as they creaked menacingly.

"Come out, come out wherever you are!" he sing sang as he reached the floor of the basement, Eddie waited with a baited breath, waiting for Nate to turn around, as Eddie lifted his gun to eye level. Nate did indeed turn around to glance down at AJ, he prepared to fire into the man's back...

"I'll shoot the kid Eddie if you think of shooting me" Nate said on monotone, already knowing Eddie's plan, he knew this baby was bait. He wasn't that stupid, Eddie cursed his own stupidity at putting AJ at such a risk, Nate turned around as Eddie stood up.

"Good, now drop the gun" Nate instructed him as Eddie did so. AJ was in his one hand and the gun in the other hand.

"Hmm... you know I'm gonna make this quick Eddie, no monologue and no bullshit. You killed my friend I've been itching to get back at you for ruining everything for me" Nate told him icily raising his gun, he would shoot. Eddie didn't know what to do, he was out of options, he blurted out the only thing he could.

"Russell's dead Nate! I was with him! He died!" Eddie roared.

"So fucking what?" Nate snapped, as AJ began to cry at the sound of the raised voices and began to slap at Nate's face "Hey, shut the fuck kid..." he snapped at the infant, but a second was all Eddie needed as he scooped his gun off the ground, with AJ slapping at his face Nate didn't react in time, as Eddie fired his shot at Nate's crotch.

"FUCCCCCCKKKKK!" Nate roared falling to the floor, violently dropping AJ next to him, as Eddie quickly ran next to the insane man, as he clutched his treasured spot in agony, he looked up at Eddie who stood triumphantly above him with his gun in his hands.

"FUCK YOU! FUCKING LIFE-RUINER... FUCKING... FUCK... DIE, JUST FUCK OFF DIE... FUCK OFF! YEAH RUSS! YOU TELL HIM TO FUCK OFF AS WELL!" Nate roared to a spot to his left, as he muttered more softly to a spot to his right "Yeah, his the one that killed you... yeah don't worry honey you and the kid will be safe when this fucker is dead..."

Nate was purely insane, he never let go of his past, he longed for revenge.

"I'm sorry" he muttered, seeing what his shot had turned Nate into, how much destruction he had caused this man, Nate didn't hear him as he babbled onto those dead people around him. Eddie wasn't like Nate, Eddie had to keep on going and keep on surviving, he was never good at plans anyway, so he simply aimed his gun at Nate's head.

"Nate?"

He looked up at the man he hated for the last time.

"I'm gonna make this quick" he said, before he pulled the trigger.

Nate slumped backwards, blood pouring from his head, it was over. It was over for Eddie, shaking in relief he lifted the wailing form of AJ and hugged the child to his chest. Tears pouring from both their eyes, yet Eddie didn't say anything, he thought of Wyatt and all the people he had lost, but he would carry on. By no means was he the perfect survivor.

But he'd carry on protecting the group and more importantly AJ, who had... (in a strange way) helped him back there. They were something of a team now.

"Come kid, let's get the hell out of here" he muttered, ascending the stairs once again and rushing through the fires, he stepped outside to find the blue truck awaiting him, Stephanie, Sarah, Baby Lilly and Molly were inside, but Rebecca was struggling with a blackened Bonnie who had burns across her clothes and hair.

"...can't go back in there!" Bonnie was telling a frantic Rebecca.

"MY BABY'S IN THERE! LET ME...!" She screamed before she caught sight of a signed Eddie. He held up AJ, as Rebecca stop crying and simply stared at him, they could all tell Eddie had been crying too, he didn't care.

The group was safe, that was enough to make Eddie cry a few happy tears.

* * *

Kenny paused in thought as he dropped Luke's head limply, he was a monster. He shot Clementine, Lee would be disgusted with him.

"W... why did you betray the group?" he asked of Luke blankly, starting to think a little more and not just fly into a rage as he normally did. Luke coughed and muttered very simply "For Clem, I care about that girl so much Kenny..." he said hoarsely, as a distant horn cut him off as he groaned.

"The cult's coming, Kenny... get yourself out of here. Take the kids with you, you don't have to give them up to the cult, you can still escape. Just..." Luke felt a tear fall from his eye at his impending death as he muttered "Just t-take care of Clementine, you've known her longest. Just make sure you reach Wellington and make sure she's safe and happy, and tell her... tell her I'm sorry".

Kenny stood up, knowing what he had to do now, he was strangely calm about it.

"Get your ass up" he snarled at Luke.

Luke looked up at him bewildered.

"Come on! Get the hell up!" Kenny roared, he managed to hoist a mud drenched Luke to his feet as Luke gazed over at Kenny in confusion "You lazy ass, go tell Clementine you're sorry yourself" he muttered at Luke as he supported the younger man and helped him walk on.

"Kenny... don't... do this! Let me die!" He begged, as Kenny shook his head.

"You've... got a lot of explaining to do to her, you ain't copping out that easily" he told the younger man as another horn went off the cult were drawing ever nearer, Luke felt himself turn to ice as he muttered "Kenny I haven't got the kids, they'll open fire on us for sure! We can't make it back to the house! Not like this!" he pointed out the pair of them were wounded and moving at a sluggish pace. Kenny sighed.

"You're right" he muttered, spotting Luke's small pistol in the undergrowth. He scooped it up and then ran in the direction of the cult.

"KE-KENNY! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU GOING!?" Luke roared using a tree to support himself, as Kenny looked back at him.

"Get back to that house, take care of that little girl! She needs you Luke!" he bellowed, as he shouted back "I'M MORE WOUNDED! YOU GO! I'LL HOLD THEM OFF!" but Kenny merely shook his head. He finally seemed to sob to Kenny "WHY!? I'M A GOOD FOR NOTHING TRAITOR! YOU HAVE YOUR DAUGHTER A LITTLE GIRL BACK THERE WHO NEEDS HER DADDY! I CAN'T LET HER GROW UP AS AN ORPHAN!" He reasoned as Kenny merely sighed.

"My daughter already has her family, she doesn't need me" Kenny reasoned, as Luke stumbled up to him.

"She does" He snarled.

In response Kenny took the old, mud drenched cap off his head and shoved it at Luke, as he muttered "There...tell her whatever you want about her daddy when she grows up. But I want her to remember this, I want her to wear it" he instructed as Luke nodded in disbelief, Kenny was determined and Luke wasn't going to persuade him to leave now. Instead as he started to hobble away he asked one last question.

"Why me Kenny?"

"Because if you're willing to go through my fucking rage and all of that just to keep one little girl safe, I know Lee would be proud that I left Clem in capable hands" he reasoned, as Luke was about to try and hobble away, but he needed to say one last thing to Kenny.

"They'd be proud, bye Kenny" and with that he was gone, Kenny wiped away a tear that fell down his cheeks as he thought about his lost loved one's. Aiming the small pistol on the approaching cultists.

He was saving the group, for the final time.

* * *

_"Hey..." A younger Luke muttered, approaching where Nick was drenched with water in the muddy puddle, Nick looked up at the brown haired boy sullenly, he wiped away a few tears and snapped "Go away" but rather than do so, Luke simply crouched next to the downtrodden boy and observed him for a while. Before he plucked some nearby stones and placed them into a kind of pillar with the smallest tone at the top and the largest one at the bottom._

_"This stands because the biggest one's at the bottom. My parents tell me their at the bottom and I'm at the top, they have to support me" the random fact caused Nick to swell in rage as he shook the pile of stones._

_"Stop shaking them!" Luke exclaimed._

_But Nick shook them until the small pillar collapsed, as he angrily muttered "That's why my fucking pillar looks like, my dad's at the top and I'm at the fucking bottom being crushed. Now fuck off" he spat, (picking up the profanities from his father). Luke (although shocked) didn't leave the clearly troubled boy, instead he picked up a larger stone and then placed a smaller one on top of it._

_"There, I can support you now!" Luke said in glee, as Nick looked up cautiously, expecting a prank. But he didn't see the Shaky Stones, all he saw was a pillar of friendship. That was Luke and Nick's first meeting, that little stone pillar Luke had made, had sealed their friendship for life._

"Hey" Nick muttered approaching where Luke was drenched with water in the muddy puddle, Luke looked up, he was in too much pain and guilt to go on, he wiped away a few tears and said "Go on without me Nick. Kenny already gave his life for shitty me, I don't want you to do the same, I don't want anyone else dyin' for me" but rather than do so and simply run. Nick crouched by the downtrodden man. He plucked some nearby stones and made a pillar out of them, one for each member of the group.

Luke looked at it.

"This stands because the biggest one's at the bottom, that's you Luke it always has been" Nick told him. Luke swelled in rage and used his hand to scatter the stones and have the pillar collapse, the stones, scattered and divided that was the group now.

"The group's gone to fucking ruin" Luke spat.

Nick wasn't shocked instead he simply muttered "Okay" he picked up the largest stone and placed a smaller stone on top of it, Luke looked up again.

"There, I can support you now" Nick told his friend, Nick was now the bigger stone and Luke was the smaller one. Luke suddenly remembered why Nick as doing this odd thing with the stones... it was the first time they had met, their first meeting. Luke tried to hold back the tears but he failed miserably as Nick helped him too his feet.

"W-when did you start being my best f-friend again" he sobbed to Nick.

"I always have been, you idiot" he replied, as Luke began to wail like a little girl, Nick didn't say anything he simply helped Luke along as Luke heaving sobs began to stain Nick's clothing with tears and snot. But Nick didn't care, how many times had he cried to Luke? Countless times, no matter what Luke had done, Luke was his best friend.

And you were always there for a best friend.

* * *

Clementine slumped by the tree, it was freezing and she knew she was going to die. Her stomach hurt like hell, just like it did the first time, she looked up to see the walker approaching her, the same walker from the last time. With the chain around it's foot.

"Oh... here again" she muttered as she closed her eyes preparing for her death. A death that never came there was a crunching sound something fell by her feet. Her vision was darkening as someone lifted her up, the first time they had met he had done the same thing. He had saved her from a walker.

"I hate you" she spat at Luke, Nick was lucky to have spotted Clementine by the tree and Luke had scooped in for the rescue. He had his machete back on him, Luke simply held Clementine closer to his chest.

"Kenny... says sorry"

She processed this news, before she passed out in his arms.

* * *

The cult were approaching, Luke, Nick and Clementine reached the truck, they were let in. Luke was in a battered state he told the group the deal was off, they were fleeing as of now. They didn't have to hand the kids over, Kenny had stayed back to hold them off.

Some (like Rebecca) were anxious to let him come with them, but the cult were nearly upon them. Eddie sat in the drivers seat as he put his foot down on the pedal as the remaining group members left the burning house behind and travelled on through the forest.

Their story wasn't over yet.

* * *

The cult leader approached the bullet strewn form of Kenny, despite his wounds Kenny had fought on valiantly he was still alive, breathing lightly as the cult leader muttered "You're a stubborn one aren't you? But I admire your spirit, you took down 20 of our men with a single pistol"

"What... is that all?" Kenny mused, as the cult leader face darkened, he was cheated out of his deal and Kenny loved that, his daughter was safe, Clementine was safe.

As the cult leader shot Kenny in the head, his last thought caused him to smile.

They were proud of him.


	41. 14 Days Later

**A/N: Here we go... okay so Chapter 40 has come and gone, so the fourth "episode" The Shaky Stones has come to it's conclusion. Now... it's the finale No Holds Bars judging by the title you can imagine this finale is going to somewhat brutal, I have the ending in mind but I'm still constantly changing my mind on certain ideas and character fates, originally it was going to be Christa who had the mental breakdown Kenny had and Kenny himself would survive the story. **

**Never the less this was changed as I thought it would be more fitting for it to be Kenny and to give him a sort of "Ben" ending that I liked so much, even if Kenny had been a douche in his death he could be forgiven. I planned for Christa to shoot Clem over her earlier resentment of Clem in the story but eventually I just couldn't see Christa doing that, so plot ideas for Christa were taken on by Kenny. and since Kenny was originally meant to survive going to ruin, who else will survive? And who else will die? **

**Anyway I'm rambling on, I'll answer reviews slightly differently here... so on I go, thanks to the guest for pointing out this story is nearly on 600 reviews (reaching that... wow I was fine with 500 but 600? I can't thank you guys enough) and Transformer's G1's-prime sorry about Kenny, but at least he is indeed with his family now.**

**LilacsBloom thank you for your kind words and support and Chameishida loving your reviews as always I thought you'd love last chapter as I spared Luke over Kenny (then again that was the plan) either way they'll be some more of Luke in this finale and his second chance will be explained. ffapathy I loved the comparison you made between Kenny and Lilly's death's, although they were didn't get along in life they died in the same way and as for Nate and Marisol, yep they got a gory end indeed. I couldn't see their plot going much further and last chapter was the chance to tie up loose ends (as much as I loved their characters and how fun Nate was too write, I can't imagine Nate and Eddie travelling together, so Nate had to go, but Eddie's still around).**

**transformersfan interesting theory I won't confirm if it's right or wrong but I always like reading theories... Rebloxic yep and Eddie and Molly, so there are 11 left alive. Two babies, a 12 year old and a teenager and 8 adults. I just realised myself that (not counting AJ or Lilly as there gender won't make much of a difference at the moment) that Eddie, Nick and Luke are the only male characters left alive. So their are 3 guys and 6 girls (not counting Lilly). So... yeah the guys are outnumbered here. and thank you for letting me use your OC Marisol she was great to write and you want Nick to have a kid huh? We will see...**

**and finally thank you to Kristal Dynamite for your continued words of support *catches flowers* why thank you! and A Writer With Mixed Interests your words put a smile on my face so thank you for that and thanks to everyone else who reviewed! **

**and now, onto the final stretch or "episode" of this story.**

**No Holds Bars or as I would probably call it now No Second Chances.**

* * *

"Hmm... Ohio"

Through the white haze of the blizzard Molly squinted her teal eyes until they made out the faded inscriptions on the old road sign, the letters had been rusted to mere nothingness, some of the letters once bolted onto the sign had fallen to the ground but their outmarks were left stained onto the sign forever more. The blonde woman leant back in her seat and read out what the sign in front of her had inscribed on it.

"Welcome to the state of Ohio"

The remaining group members looked up, their faces somewhat haggard from the lack of food they had received, but it wasn't just the food to blame for this new "haggard" look. In the apocalypse everybody was starving, everyone struggled to find supplies, what had happened merely a fortnight ago was still fresh in the memories of many, as if the whole burning house incident had occurred yesterday.

Molly yawned annoyed by their silence, maybe she was being cruel but the whole incident had occurred two god-damn weeks ago, the group should have recovered somewhat from now. But no, they sat here in their usual silence making occasional small talk from where they squashed up in the back of the truck, at other times hugging themselves or asking each other how the other person was, in which the trademark answer was "Fine" (Luke was apparently to blame for this).

Molly knew she hadn't been part of the group long enough for the deaths to affect her as they had affected the others, so that's why she drove the truck most of the time. She was the one with the most motivation to get to Wellington (or so she thought) either way compared to the others she was doing okay. Yes, she had known Kenny before but in all honesty his death (although honourable) hardly affected her. She kept silent like the others so she didn't appear too heartless to them, but after 14 days of the same sullen routine, her patience was growing thin.

The others meanwhile sat in the truck, getting away from the cult in a truck was easy and finding their way back onto the main highway was easy, dealing with their trauma was not.

What was their too say? Luke looked as if he had been torn apart and then put back together again in a sloppy manner. Sarah trembled (being the only medic left alive) as she peeled off his clothes to slowly dab on the wounds. Although still angry with Luke, Rebecca told Eddie to slow the truck down, so no sudden jolts in the road could reopen any of the wounds plastered on Luke and Clementine had opened her stomach wound once again, with Sarah had to stitch up.

"You've done brilliantly Sarah" Rebecca told her kindly, as Sarah wiped down her bloody hands on a cloth that Bonnie passed her. Sarah let out a shaky breath and looked back at where Luke and Clementine were passed out at the back of the truck, since they had moved the various weapons (and meds, that came in handy for when Sarah had to work on cleaning wounds or stitching them up) the back of the truck was free, with enough space for a grown man to lie in, with a little girl next to him.

Meanwhile the back seats were a mess of cluttered weapons, meds and people. Rebecca kept Lilly in her grip "The poor girl is an orphan now and she's only just been born, oh why Kenny..." she moaned to the heavens, cradling his daughter to her chest. As Eddie kept a close on Alvin, who no longer required being held, no. He could now crawl across and under people's legs and babble happily while everyone else sat there, cramped and shuffling awkwardly.

Eddie, Rebecca and Nick would sit down, with Sarah, Stephanie and Bonnie sitting on their laps, Molly would usually be in the front two seats with another person (anyone of the six in the back) taking the seat next to her. Luke and Clementine kept on sleeping, waking occasionally, groaning in pain before passing out once again.

* * *

Stopping the truck and getting out a day after the events of Kenny's death, the group stretched their aching legs as Molly called out "Okay! We got 10 minutes before we get moving again!"

"Who made you leader!?" Nick snapped back, shuffling out of the truck.

"Just giving a time, jeez you don't want that cult catching up do ya?" she inquired of him, as he simply shook his head and sulked off towards where Sarah was jogging lightly to restore the feeling in her legs.

"Hey Sarah, so when do you think Luke and Clem will be up and about?" Nick asked, his strong blue eyes trained on the skinny teenager. Sarah sighed at his question having no clear answer as she mumbled "I dunno, Clem's stomach is hurt pretty bad and from what I saw, Luke has broken ribs, a broken leg, a broken arm, a broken nose and there's a large gash on his stomach that needed stitching and any of those wounds could have got infected" Sarah listed as Nick placed a hand on his forehead and tried to bite back his growing panic.

"Hey come on" Stephanie said, her smaller hand squeezing Nick's larger one, the reassurance was all he needed as Stephanie told him "With wounds like that, he needs weeks of rest at least, he still has those injuries on his knees as well, I'm surprised that guy's still alive after all he went through..." Stephanie trailed off, looking back at Luke's form in the back of the truck. She avoided the small form of Clementine, feeling the young girl getting shot at point blank range was her fault, as she initially helped set Kenny off.

"Are we even one hundred per cent sure that Kenny simply _let him go?_" Rebecca snapped, entering the conversation unexpectedly, glaring at anything that moved.

"Rebecca, I know what you think, but I swear to God when I found Luke he was in no shape to move, Kenny had to have been giving him hell... I mean we all saw what state Kenny was in when he left. Kenny had a change of heart if he didn't Luke would be dead no questions asked..." Nick argued on his best friend's defence as Rebecca merely scoffed.

"How do we know that? How do we know Luke didn't get the upper hand? We've seen what he did with Bill, he could have done that with Kenny and lied..._"_

"Why would lie Rebecca? His already in hot water as it is" Nick counter argued as Rebecca merely replied with "Look I don't know, I still care about Luke and I know whatever story is true that Kenny is dead and gone and now this poor little girl..." (she referenced Lilly in her arms) ..."doesn't have her parents. Luke was willing to give the children to those freaks... just so..." she paused there, glaring at Luke's unconscious form.

"Yeah, well until his awake we can't really come to any conclusions" Stephanie chipped in.

"That's true" Eddie said wandering over to the growing discussion to cast his opinion "But then again when he stumbled up to the truck, he was carrying Clementine..."

"What are you getting at?" Nick snapped at Eddie, who held his hands up and innocent look on his face as he said "Hey man, chill out. I'm just saying that with all of his injuries, it seems a bit odd that he can carry her..."

"He cares about Clem, you know that. You know he made that deal with the cult leader to protect her" Nick counter argued before he added "Besides he passed out seconds after he dropped Clementine from his arms, he must have been exhausted..."

"But it wasn't just Clem for the reasoning of his deal, him and Clem both mentioned something about a second chance..." Eddie said.

The group went silent as Eddie trailed off, Rebecca, Nick, Eddie, Stephanie and Sarah stood in a small circle with Molly still waiting in the truck inspecting her appearance in the rear view mirror, but also keeping an eye on AJ who lay sound asleep in the back seat. While Bonnie was crouched on the forest floor pretending to look busy but her ears were trained in on the conversation. Staring at the messy brown twigs in the yellowing foliage she awaited for the sounds of anyone's voice to float over to her ears to show that the conversation was still continuing.

Finally, Rebecca spoke

"If Luke had mentioned it first I would have dismissed it as bullshit, but Clem... the way she went on about how we all died in a previous life. It... it sounded so real and the fact she betrayed us to Carver in the first place seemed like such an odd move at the time. A choice an 11 year old shouldn't have to make..." Rebecca spoke on her eyes getting slightly reflective, remembering the emotional trauma they had all suffered back in the dark days of Howe's.

"I always remember thinking, back at Howe's... where would be if Clem hadn't sold us out to Carver? Where would we be then?" Nick spoke up, before he glanced at the ground and uttered "Me and Sarah would have never grown this close, I'd never have met you Stef..." he flashed her a small smile, which she returned "I... it always struck me as odd. I always assumed Clem was clever... but something about that deal, it never seemed like her reasons were enough it was like she..." Nick paused there unable to find the right word for what Clementine had.

"Foresight?" Stephanie suggested, in which Nick nodded and ploughed on "Yeah, foresight. Remember how dead-set were all were on escaping and then suddenly Clem has a 180 and decides it best for us to stay? I don't care how clever you are, but too make a decision like that and have everything turn out relativity okay... you're right Stef. It was like she knew what was going to happen, remember Clem always seemed to be on top of things. Hell she helped lead the rebellion and she was 11...!" Nick stressed his point, as the others all nodded.

"What, so were actually going to accept the fact that... that Luke and Clem have somehow been sent back in time?" Eddie asked in disbelief.

"We accept the fact the dead rise with no explanation, why not this?" Sarah piped up, rather excited by the prospect of time travel.

"So... hang on... okay..." Rebecca shook her head wildly as if trying to rid herself of lice, before she inhaled deeply "If were... actually going to just say that this... this whole second chance thing, really is... time travel" she rushed the last two words out as if she was barely able to believe she had said such a ludicrous thing. She gulped before continuing "Okay, so Clem said she woke up in her bed back in Howe's the day Reggie was killed" Rebecca explained as the other's listened on eagerly before she continued.

"Then... when did Luke... wake up?" she asked of the others, Sarah, Nick, Eddie and Stephanie paused in deep thought.

"Well, whenever he did I think his done a shitty job of a second chance" Eddie joked, looking around at the depleted group members.

"But were alive! The kids are alive Eddie! It's not amazing but Luke's done his damn hardest, I'm sure he has! and... and I'm certain things could be worse than this!" Bonnie shouted, rather frustrated with Eddie, as the brown eyed man once again put his hands over his head as he exclaimed "I was joking Bonnie... jeez I seem to be offending everyone today..." he trailed off, as he did Stephanie merely mumbled "His got a point, it's hard to imagine things being worse than they already are..."

"The kids are alive and not with the cult, we have a truck. Molly's proved herself to be reliable so far, we have meds, fuel and enough food to last and were on our way to Wellington, so although we've been through a lot of shit it's getting better. It was the same at Howe's we went through shit, but it got better" Bonnie pointed out, as the others all nodded in agreement, as Stephanie went red in embarrassment about being dis-proven. A small silence engulfed the group once again before an embarrassed Stephanie found her voice again.

"He... I think I know when Luke woke up, because I was there" she recalled as all eyes fixated on her.

"After Wyatt shot Luke in the knees and you guys left him for dead..." Stephanie explained looking at Eddie, who sighed sadly before Stephanie continued her tale "... I went to Luke, managed to wake him up... and... he looked shocked. The first thing he said is whether I was Jane or not... then he asked "I'm not dead?" as if he expected to be. A common question I know, but then he started crying about how he lost Clem to the herd because Vince told him that's she died. It all seemed normal enough..." she paused there dramatically.

"But then I told him, could you believe Vince after what I saw him do? and Luke... I saw it. It was as if he suddenly realised he was alive or something... the look on his face, there was a fire in his eyes. He went from wanting to die to suddenly wanting my help to help him walk along. All it took was one comment to get him moving, I always thought of it as slightly odd but I never said anything because it seemed like such a weird thing to pick up on... but looking back, if a person you cared so much about was believed to be dead. Would it take one comment for someone you don't know all to well to get you moving again?" the group remained silent as Stephanie stood tall, proud of her observations before she continued.

"We've seen what lengths Luke will go too to protect Clem, if she died he'd give up on life I know it. That little girl is the only thing keeping him sane and alive right now. There's no way one little comment from the woman crashed the truck, and a woman you don't know too well can convince you to get moving again. It was more like my comment confirmed one thing to Luke... that he was back in the past and that's when he insisted we keep moving... because he knew Clementine was still alive..."

"I guess that makes sense. I mean he wouldn't make the mistake of supposedly raping Kelly again, but even then... why use the Lake? Wyatt got killed there" Eddie seemed to make a valid point, as Bonnie quickly flew to Luke's defence by announcing "Well... maybe Vince killed more of us in Luke's... pre life. Like he said he went to the lake to make sure Vince drowned..."

"Then why the hell did he spare Vince?" Eddie demanded of Bonnie.

"He could have killed Vince, he probably should have done. But what Luke wanted was for Vince to be away from the group, that was all. He wanted to reunite us... because..." Bonnie suddenly gasped as she realised something "Back at the house! When Luke said he saw that woman get ripped to shreds by the wolves, it was supposedly the same thing that happened to me the first time! and y'all thought it was me when you saw it... Luke must have been gathering the group to avoid my death... or anyone else's because while separated we have suffered casualties" Bonnie spoke on, as it made more sense to the group, yet there was still one hole in the explanation.

"But the cult set that up, if that's true... and if what Luke said was true... then the cult must know about this whole second chance thing too" Stephanie made her point, which was met by many nods as Sarah mumbled "Good point" before Nick kept the conversation rolling.

"I don't know what the cult knows, but they are fucking weird. If anyone knows about time travel it's probably them, they've played all sorts of clever mind games with us" Nick stated clearly.

"Then... do you think the cult are chasing us because they... they want a second chance or something? Or that... they know and want something from Luke and Clem?" Sarah asked timidly of the group as no one seemed to answer her, they all didn't know. None of them had been given second chances, they could only speculate.

"I can't believe were discussing this... time travel... it's crazy..." Rebecca reminded the group for the millionth time that day.

"Yeah well maybe Luke and Clem just had weird dreams for all we know and were looking waaaaaaaaaaay to much into this" Eddie interjected as Stephanie looked back at the car once again, with Luke and Clementine's sleeping forms in the back.

"Well until they wake up, we won't get any answers..."

* * *

The next day, the first snowflake fell to the ground.

"Oooh Nick look, snow!" Sarah pointed out as she gazed out of the window at the thick white blobs that flew past the windscreen, as Nick merely muttered dryly "Yeah, snow" only to met a amused glance from Stephanie as he muttered "What?"

"Don't sound too excited about the snow Nick" was all she said, a small smile etching it's way onto her face, Nick would never understand why she would suddenly get giddy over small, irritated little grumbles he made. It made no sense to him, but he supposed he'd never truly understand women.

"Maybe we could make a snowman in Wellington!" Sarah chimed excitedly, her nose pressed up against the glass window of the truck as she peered outside at the rapidly descending chunks of frozen water.

"Maybe, I used to love making snowmen when I was a little girl" Stephanie added as Sarah beamed at her "Yeah! Like with a carrot for a nose and stone buttons...?" Sarah spoke on as Stephanie merely smiled and added "Don't forget twigs for arms and little gloves for hands"

"Yeah!" Sarah exploded in a childish excitement, practically hopping on Bonnie's leg she struggled to contain herself.

"Woah calm down Sarah, let's just focus on Wellington first, okay darlin'?" Bonnie told the overexcited teenager calmly, as she nodded but the enthusiasm in her tone didn't die when she turned to Nick and asked "Hey Nick, when we get to Wellington do you want to build a snowman with me and Stef?" Stephanie (who was on Nick's lap) turned back to him as she purred "Come on Nick..."

"Nah... I was never a big fan of snowmen..." Nick muttered only to be cut off by an instant "Pretty Pur-leaseeeeeeee!" by Sarah, he knew how stubborn she could be over this and with Stephanie also looking directly at him, he had no chance. His shoulders slumped in defeat as he puffed out an annoyed "Fine" in which Sarah celebrated with a resounding cheer.

"Well it's starting to stick Sarah, maybe Wellington will be covered in snow when we get there" Molly observed glancing at the road in front of her as she drove onwards.

* * *

Three days later, not even Sarah was happy about the snow.

Winter had truly arrived with the date (Molly's near enough prediction) being that of mid to late November, the group had spent weeks on the move on foot, although they had a slight sprinkling of snow on the night Luke set off the flare and cold weather during that period on foot, it was nothing compared to how low the temperatures got in the space of days, or how viscously the snow and hail beat down on the remaining group members, whenever somebody had to leave the truck (to relieve themselves) they usually returned to the truck plastered in snow and blue at the skin.

"Thank God we've got this truck, Imagine Alvin and Lilly out there, they wouldn't last a minute" Rebecca told the group.

"Yeah, good timing for it too for us to get a truck" Eddie pointed out, glancing back at where Luke and Clementine still lay at the back of the truck recovering from their injuries. So far they were still in too much pain to do much, Luke usually weakly tapped at the back seat if he needed to relieve himself, or if he needed food or drink. He'd do what he had to do (usually with Bonnie supporting him) before he return to his original position and sleep again.

"Aren't you gonna speak Luke, you got a lot of explaining to do" Rebecca would sternly tell him sometimes, yet he'd shake his head, groan at any loud noises (as if he had a terrible hangover) before curling up and falling asleep next to Clementine. The 12 year old herself would suddenly bolt up if she needed the loo or food, she wasn't too talkative either. Usually clutching her stomach she did her business before returning to her original position next to Luke.

"Maybe it's something to do with the truck" Nick stressed to Sarah, looking back at Clem and Luke, concern lining all of his features making him look older than he really was.

"They'll need weeks of rest Nick, I'm sure they're fine" Sarah reassured him.

But a lot of concern was no longer on Luke and Clem, in fact the weather had gotten worse in the fact it blocked up roads ahead with massive piles of snow. Molly would curse as they looked for alternative routes around, whether the truck rolled over icy grounds, patches of forest or even unstable inclines Molly was the main one ploughing the truck forward. Yet for the progress they made, they seemed to be going more east than they were north, It was like an wall of snow was blocking their way to Ohio.

"Were making slower progress than we were on foot" Molly angrily muttered to herself.

* * *

The seventh day after Kenny's death dawned.

It had been a week since Kenny died, his loss (and others) were starting to affect the group greatly as social groups began to formulate once again. Although Kenny had gone mad in the end, there was no denying he had an enormous presence in their group and now without him... everything felt empty. They felt more like a band of mismatched survivors rather than a formulated group, no one could be as stubborn as Kenny, or have his drive and determination to carry on. With Luke also still out of it (along with a sensible Clem) the vibe in the air was a strange one to say the least.

Molly was still the cynical outsider, but between Eddie, Rebecca, Nick, Sarah, Stephanie, Bonnie (not counting the two infants) the 6 of them had no leader. Rebecca was tough but not leader material, Bonnie and Stephanie weren't either and Sarah... well Sarah was the motivator and not the leader. In the absence of Kenny, it had come down to Nick and Eddie to try and fill the big "alpha male" void left by him. But neither one of them seemed to take that role, Eddie was too... laid back and Nick was too hot headed (and dare someone say it) too stupid or clumsy to take on the leader role.

But... some things did start developing.

Nick, Rebecca, Sarah and Bonnie had gone out to relieve themselves, Eddie held onto AJ while a squealing Lilly was left in the back-seat with Stephanie, an annoyed Molly snapped "Jeez Stef pick the kid up and shut it up" Stephanie stared at the days old girl in some-sort of horror, afraid of how frail it was... afraid of how...

It could break.

"Well come on, I'm getting a headache" Molly whined, egging an uncertain Stephanie on as she inhaled and muttered to herself "Okay... it's just a baby Stef, get over it" her small hands wrapped around the infant as it continued to whine. Stephanie tried hard not to imagine the wrinkly foetus of her lost child in her own puddle of blood...

"Hold her steady" Molly told Stephanie who didn't realise how badly she was shaking, cursing herself she held the infant close to her chest, as baby Lilly continued to cry as Stephanie said softly "shush, it's okay... I'm here... I'm here... It's just me, you're okay..." she began to rock the infant softly as Lilly seemed to calm down slightly, staring at Stephanie through dropping blue eyes.

"Twinkle twinkle little star how I wonder what you are... your daddy's up there above...and he wanted you to wear so... here's to... us" Stephanie tried to sing, trying her own version of the lullaby but had failed to rhyme the words as she trailed to a halt. Sighing she grabbed Kenny's cap and gave it for Lilly to play with, she seemed to like playing with her deceased father's old cap.

"You like that, don't you... don't you!" Stephanie told the child playfully, moving the cap back and forth as Lilly smiled and gurgled happily, Stephanie felt warm inside, forgetting her past fears as she held onto Lilly and continued to play with her. Rebecca returned first, she saw Stephanie playing with Lilly. The happy mother waited for Nick to come back, he did so as Rebecca told him "Oh look at her, it's as if what happened to her... didn't happen" Nick peered into the truck to see Stephanie playing with Lilly and couldn't help but suppress a smile.

"She'd make a good mum you know" Rebecca told Nick before she re-entered the truck, Nick followed her greeting Stephanie happily as he began to play with Lilly as well. Pulling funny faces and trying to make her laugh as Rebecca glanced over at the couple who happily carried the baby girl between them, it looked so cute... they looked a family.

Nick and Stephanie took care of Lilly a lot more after that, with Sarah being the doting older sister figure.

* * *

Day 12 in the truck.

When people are confined together for this long... strange things start to happen to said people.

Silences began to grow longer as the remaining group sat there, gazing out of the windows glad not to be out there, but then again with all the body heat in the truck... it wasn't exactly comfortable either. People started to reek of sweat and odours, clothes grew more stale and irritated on their skins as they had no new clothes to change into. Weapons remained but food was beginning to deplete. Nate had a hell of a lot supplies, but even they were growing thin.

So food was beginning to rationed and hungry souls made for a bad moods and sudden arguments.

"How come you get to drive all the time! I'm squashed back here!" was the opening line to one of Nick's arguments with Molly, the irritated blonde simply wanted out of the truck and the endless setbacks on the road weren't improving her mood.

Luke and Clementine were still out of it, or so Luke was, Clementine was pretending at this point, her stomach felt fine now but she wasn't waking up until Luke did, because she didn't want to face a barrage of questions alone and added to the fact she wanted Luke to explain himself to everyone, but more importantly so he could explain himself to _her. _She needed to know what he had been through... he hated that he kept things to himself and now they had to open to each other and something only the pair of them had been through.

When it happened it would be an interesting discussion.

* * *

Day 13

Molly was annoyed at Nick, she was furious at the lack of progress and the snow constantly blocking any road she could find. On numerous occasions she'd stop the truck, exit it and swear repeatedly while kicking either the truck or snow, blaming them for their slow progress.

"FUCKING CALM DOWN!" Nick would roar to her on such occasions.

"OH, SHUT THE HELL UP! CAN'T YOU SEE WERE GETTING NO WHERE!?" Molly would scream back, she usually managed to keep her cool but right now that dry and sarcastic side of her was slowly being whittled away. She resisted the urge to snap at the group over their sullen silences, or even when a baby started to cry, or Sarah spoke on about pointless stuff... Molly held her tongue and reassured herself, this truck was going north. They were getting there.

However slowly.

Rebecca, Eddie and the two infants seemed to cope with it in silence (or in the infant's cases wailing for food or the toilet) but Sarah had begin to feel slightly isolated, she saw how happy of a family Nick, Stephanie and Lilly were she just felt like an irritating fly to them, aware of her own stupid, positive words, Nick would smile and nod, as would Stephanie but Sarah knew she had began to annoy them all. She couldn't blame them, they had been stuck in this truck for a while now.

_"Your attitude is going to get you killed!" _

Sarah kept on thinking about those words, Marisol had said it (or something like it) back by the burning house, she used to sit there and think. Crazy scenario's playing in her head of the group all turning savage and ripping her too pieces for being annoying and too positive for them. She knew it was ridiculous, she knew she had gotten tougher to what she once was... but... maybe she needed to change some more. She still needed protecting and she had faith in the others, but what if the others weren't there? She remembered when she was alone after leaving Alex to his fate... how scared she had been.

She felt like she had more to prove.

But while Sarah thought that, it was Bonnie whose mental health was declining the fastest.

She couldn't help herself, finding the first of those syringes in the snow a few days back, she knew the cult had probably indirectly placed them there. She knew they were for her... they knew she couldn't resist. Every time she went to relieve herself another syringe would simply be lying there waiting for her. and she would inject the clear liquid into her arms, not caring about the danger.

Besides, they weren't dangerous they made her forget everything. She covered her arms as she sat in the truck smiling lightly at the snow outside, her world a bubble. Her stomach warm and happy thoughts constantly flying through her head, she should have told someone. She knew she should have done, but she had a feeling her little "gifts" would stop if she did so. So she'd stay silent through the day, arousing no suspicion that she was high, she even pretend to sleep sometimes just so people wouldn't get wary of her constant smile.

If the cult were slowly killing her, then she didn't care, she had developed a disregard for her own life back when she took the drugs in the first place back with Christa, she couldn't stop the addicting fix now. In fact at night that's when... that's when the group were asleep and she was free to slither over to where Luke lay and gaze at him. Her cold hands sliding over his chest and sometimes down his trousers and Luke simply lay through it all, completely motionless.

Bonnie would never get caught, a sound of anyone coughing or turning their head was enough to get her flying back to her seat. (They stopped the car at night, no one could sleep while it was moving and with the doors locked and windows intact, if there was an intruder the smashing of glass would awake and alert them all) besides they all didn't know that Bonnie took night shift, although her eyes were never usually trained on the scenery outside.

The redhead would giggle to herself, she never... did anything with Luke. No, she simply liked touching him, that was all.

But that "touching" was growing more addictive by the day, Bonnie thoughts grew more frayed as (in her silence) she would glance at Stephanie or Molly, they were pretty girls, what if they touched Luke? She couldn't let him go, when he woke up... she'd be his!

* * *

Day 14, it looked as if they had finally reached Ohio as Molly read out to the rest of the group.

This was also the day Luke finally woke up and told his tale...


	42. Luke Tells A Tale

**A/N: Okay, 41 Chapters in and this chapter Luke's tale will be told.**

**olliboy123- A new reviewer! Hey and thanks for your kind words and as for the shipping ClemXSarah, I think it's actually okay considering some of the other ships I've seen between walking dead characters (such as LeeXClementine, seriously wtf!?) The fanfic butterflies shows that the ClemXSarah ship is possible and quite cute too, although I don't think ClemXSarah will happen in this fic. I just don't think Clem's at the age yet to be in relationships, as she is still 12. I think 15 or 16 is the minimal age until Clem starts liking boys or girls, but then again that's just my opinion. **

**Chameishida- Thank you for another great review! I loved how you pointed out the Seven Deadly Sins thing as it seems like an interesting prospect bring up and I love discussing changes to the story, in fact I'm planning (to put in my final author's note) the original plan for Going to Ruin, what changed and why. **

**ffapathy- Loving your theroies and speculation, was it time travel? As you could see by Rebecca's reaction it seems like a ludicrous prospect,this chapter will answer a few of those questions regarding Luke's side of the story**

**Rebloxic- Hopefully this chapter clears a few things up and leaves the reader with a few answers**

**Transformer's g1's-prime- Thank you for your kind words and as for Wellington... I have a plan for that but you'll have to wait and see.**

**Kristal-Dynamite- Thank you for your kind words and concern about Bonnie, also notice how the sin of "Lust" is responsible for a lot of distress and trauma during this story, for instance Luke being accused of Rape, not once but twice. Sarah being raped in vengeance for Anne's death, Mike and Christa getting their freak on and cheating on Bonnie, and now Bonnie thinking about Luke... yep it never leads to anything good. **

**A Writer With Mixed Interests- A fan of Clem and the cabin group then? You'll have to wait and see if they make it, along with the kids, Bonnie, Stephanie and Eddie.**

**AquaDestinysEmbrace- A lot of reviewers liked the rest of the group discussing Luke and Clem's second chances, and it was fun to write about and link back to many of the reviewers theories and speculation and this chapter some of those will be answered.**

**and finally 20- thanks for your kind words and Bonnie, Sarah and AJ and Lilly concern only time will tell what happens to them.**

**okay, before this chapter begins, be warned Luke's story will contain a lot of disturbing content, sensitive issues and straight up fucked up things. Just be warned before you read on. (This chapter will be rated M)**

* * *

There was no escape.

Luke couldn't feign sleep anymore, his wounds no longer ached as they had previously done. His usually light head had become sharpened to the senses around him, the conversations of the others in the front of the truck, the revving on the engine, the gales whipping past the windscreen of their truck, the slow and steady sound of his own breath and Clementine's own breath from next to him, he dared open his eyes a fraction or two to gaze at the sleeping girl in front of him.

All he had done, he had done it for her.

Luke sighed, he could pretend to carry on sleeping, he could prolong the inevitable, but as much as it dreaded him to recount his tale he had too. Nick had saved his life the black haired man had given him a shoulder to cry on when he most needed it. Nick was his best friend he had the right too know. Stephanie had a right too know, the kind raven haired woman could have left him where she came across him in the woods. But no she had helped him reach the icy lake she had practically carried him for days on end, she had a right to know.

Eddie who had travelled with him after the lake, who had taken such good care of the child he wanted to sell to the cult leader. Eddie had a right to know, Rebecca and Sarah had been with him from way back at the cabin, both had helped bring down Carver and had come this far with him, Bonnie had loved him once and had stood loyal by his side, they all deserved to know.

and Clementine, Clementine deserved to know most of all. The 12 year old had been through the same thing.

Luke guessed even that newcomer Molly had a right to know because although she hadn't saved his life in some way, she hadn't killed, back stabbed or murdered or betrayed the group in the short time she had been here. So... the in conclusion the group needed to know.

Luke didn't tap the back-seat this time, he rose slowly gazing at back of the heads of his group, they didn't seem to notice he was awake. He made a show of groaning loudly and rubbing his eyes to draw attention to himself, in which several heads turned towards his form.

"Are you awake?" Rebecca snapped.

Luke nodded and gulped, he knew what they wanted.

"I need to tell y'all something, I need to explain myself" he muttered somewhat shyly, hating the way he was being analysed so intently in this cramped truck, he could already feel a sheen of sweat developing on his forehead. Trying to calm his rapidly beating heart he managed to splutter out "But... can we wait till Clem's awake she needs to hear this as well..."

"Oh don't worry Luke, I am" Clementine responded, bolting upwards and shattering her façade of sleep completely.

It was time for some answers.

* * *

"Gather around everyone, it's story-time!" Molly commented sarcastically she carried on slowly ploughing the truck onwards through the white haze ahead, but while her eyes were focused on the road, her ears were concentrated on Luke's voice behind her.

"Well?" Rebecca inquired with a thin raised eyebrow as Luke sighed and dipped his head slightly.

"Well... this... this second chance. It began when you woke up Stef" He mumbled, his tale having a slow start however Stephanie managed to pick up the pace somewhat as she breathlessly muttered "I knew it!" feeling like his audience were now more interested Luke looked up and dived straight into his tale.

_Luke lay there, blood slowly seeping from his kneecaps as the rain continued to fall on his damp scalp, his now drenched, darker coloured hair was plastered on his forehead. His clothes soaked through to the bone causing him to shiver violently. He had not been able too mutter a word as he knew that Clementine was dead, the girl he had fought so hard to protect. He trembled on the ground like a baby, not answering any of Stephanie's inquires. She knew the truth but what did that matter now? Clementine was gone._

_Stephanie eventually (and angrily with "You're going to fucking move Luke, whether you like it or not") dragged the heavier man to his feet, as she dragged his limp form away from the approaching walkers. Both of them leaving the exposed form of Anne behind, when Marisol found Anne not even with her own t-shirt to cover her form, Marisol's rage was much worse that it had been before._

_Elsewhere Luke didn't speak, nothing Stephanie said could lift his spirits, he could feel the irritated woman begin to lose patience and hope in him as the wolves closed in from all sides. Finally one night Stephanie screamed at him..._

_"LUKE! PLEASE!" She sobbed and squealed losing her faith in him completely, he was only dimly aware of her presence as he noticed a flare on her... a flare... that's all he needed to draw Vince nearer to him. To get the revenge he needed..._

_"Stef get going, but give me the flare" he muttered to the floor, as Stephanie blinked and managed to question him "Why?" she sounded lost as she said it, afraid to be alone and lost in these dark woods..._

_"I'm gonna draw Vince here Stef, I'm gonna kill him, you better run you don't want to be around when that happens" he instructed her._

_Stephanie's lower lip trembled, she didn't know what to say. She should have said something to him, to encourage him not to do this, to get justice for that girl Anne and get rid of Vince... but she hadn't gotten to know Luke at all. If only they had spoken about their pasts or something like that, rather than bathe in this uncomfortable silence. She could tell Luke felt the same thing as the looked at each other for what would probably be the last time._

_"Good luck" Stephanie finally uttered, ashamed of herself as she handed Luke the silver flare that Lilly had given her._

_"Find the others Stef, tell them the truth" Luke begged of her, it seemed like his last request._

_"Okay" Stephanie mumbled barely audible before she sprinted through the tree's, she heard the POP of the flare behind her, but she did not turn back._

_Vince, Eddie, Wyatt and Kenny had not yet found Christa, Mike, Bonnie, Rebecca and AJ's group at this point, the four men bolted upwards at the sound of the flare and instantly went to investigate._

_But things had gone differently for Nick, Clementine, Lilly, Sarita, Sarah and Arvo._

_Marisol's rage was too much, one thought kept crossing her mind, they hadn't even covered her up, not even showing the slightest bit of respect for her dead friend. She was left exposed to the elements, left to rot in an indecent manner, those fucking bastards had not had a shred of mortality between them, they all deserved to fucking rot._

_An eye for an eye._

_The rest of her group felt the same, Jim, Dave, Carl and even nervous little Josh... they all wanted vengeance for Anne. So when they stumbled on Sarah and Arvo, there was no mercy for the teenager. Arvo had fled just as he had done beforehand, leaving Sarah at Marisol's hands, they didn't just rape her. No. She screamed as loud as she could, sending Nick running towards the site like a mad-man. But it was too late._

_Marisol crackling laughter was the worst part of it all, as she screamed "WERE NOT GOING TO COVER YOU UP! YOU FUCKING BITCH! TAKE IT! TAKE IT LIKE ANNE TOOK IT! WE'LL LEAVE YOU FUCKING NUDE AND LEFT TO FUCKING ROT! AN EYE FOR A FUCKING EYE? RIGHT!?" _

_Sarah was dead, she had been cut into several little pieces, limbs torn from her body, head rolling somewhere in the dirt... as Dave, Jim and Carl continued too... Nick couldn't believe what he was seeing, he knew he had lost his sanity at that second as he mindlessly picked up his gun from where he had dropped it in the dirt and placed a well aimed bullet in Marisol's head._

_It should have stopped that laughter, but it didn't it echoed in Nick's head driving him insane._

_At the sound of the gunshot the remaining four men turned around in shock, each of them diving for cover behind the trees, as Sarita screamed at the site of Sarah's gory demise. Clementine fell to the floor in disbelief, as Lilly gulped and fought back the angry tears that blinded her vision. How? How could they do this too an innocent 16 year old girl?_

_Lilly warned Sarita to move, but the pregnant Indian woman ears were still ringing in shock. Josh saw his chance and fired towards her, it took three shots, one to head, one through her stomach, and one in the heart for Sarita to collapse and die on the floor. Her and her unborn baby were as dead as could be. Josh had struck down a target, he went to reload his gun with his sweaty fingers only Lilly to put a bullet in his brain as he did so. He lay slumped against the tree, as dead as the pregnant woman he had killed._

_Clementine, Lilly and Nick won that gunfight, Lilly and Nick managed to shoot down Carl, Jim and Dave without much trouble, the murder of an innocent 16 year old and a pregnant woman was too much for them, they were spurred on to murder. They didn't even stop Clementine who saw Arvo the coward... returning to the scene silently. Clementine knew what he had done, he had left her best friend to die like this... she shot at his foot as he crumpled to the floor._

_"No... no you are good girl Clementine... you are good..." he begged of her._

_BANG_

_"NOOO! STOP! I DID NOT MEAN TO LEAVE HER! I WAS SCARED!" _

_BANG_

_Clementine looked down at him, no mercy in her eyes, as he sobbed "Please..."_

_BANG_

_BANG _

_BANG_

_Lilly or Nick didn't stop her, not until all 37 bullets in her gun had been loaded into Arvo's corpse. Nick managed to mutter over to her "Is he dead?" _

_"Yes" was the response._

_"Good" was Nick's verdict._

_Lilly looked at him concerned, she fussed over Clementine while Nick grabbed where Sarah's head lay in the dirt... it was undamaged, she was still moving, she may have been a walker but he had to keep her around. To stop that laughing in his head, he slowly placed Sarah's head into the bag on his back, he could already feel the damp blood from the stump of her neck stain his bag a darker colour._

_"Let's just get the hell out of here" Lilly sobbed, not stopping to bury the corpses of their friends, as Nick, Lilly and Clementine trudged on in silence. There was nothing to say, Lilly couldn't find anything to say to calm a possibly unstable Nick and Clementine. She asked if they were okay in which the token answer was "fine" (she blamed Luke for this) she didn't know about Sarah's head in Nick's bag as she tried to cool her own quick anger and tried to control went on in her own head._

_Nick snuck off from their group sometimes... to speak to Sarah. Clementine started muttering things to herself, Lilly took herself and the 12 year old hunting to try and take their minds on what they had seen, but that was impossible. It weighed on their minds everyday, Sarah was gone and Clementine felt that ray of optimism inside of her die. Just as it had done the first time._

_Stephanie came stumbling to the trio of them that night, they were sat staring at the campfire, they didn't notice her until she muttered "Guys?" in which they all turned around, all glad to see her raven haired woman once again. As Lilly went to hug her and Nick's eyes seemed to lighten a fraction._

_"Guys, Luke was with me, he set off a flare to draw Vince in. Vince he..." she explained what she had seen, as eyes widened in shock. Clementine had already informed the group that Vince was a liar but too sink to this? It was unbelievable, the trio packed their things and were about to head out, Lilly solemnly told Stephanie what had happened to their group. The raven haired woman felt like fainting when she heard what Nick and Clementine had done, Sarita and Sarah's gory ends..._

_She stood close to Nick, feeling that the tall man that she had grown to like, needed some support. Now more than ever._

_They reached Luke too late._

_Vince, Kenny, Wyatt and Eddie had found Luke first, crouching in the middle of the woods. Luke had laughed and revealed all what Vince had done wrong, Vince argued against Luke and argued that Luke was merely insane. Luke tried to protest his innocence but then he realised his error. Sending Stephanie away was a bad move, she was a sane voice of evidence, he was not._

_Out of options he simply fired to kill Vince, if Wyatt had not dived in front of that damn bullet at the last second, the power hungry leader would have been dead. But no, Wyatt died as Vince fled behind the cover of a tree. Eddie was furious at the site bellowing "MURDERER!" at Luke, the bearded man charged forwards where Luke dived behind a tree himself. It was a stupid, impulsive move that got Eddie killed as Luke blew a few bullets into the man's stomach. Eddie gasped, and (blood leaking from his mouth) collapsed to the floor. He curled up, bled out and died. As Luke gulped, he liked Eddie, everyone did._

_Vince would pay._

_If it weren't for so many god-damn tree's Luke could have just shot Vince and gotten it other with, but no he had Kenny firing at him as well. Thankfully Kenny wasn't the greatest shot as the hot headed man screamed at him "YOU FUCKING MURDERER! YOU...KILLED WYATT AND EDDIE! YOU AIN'T EVER..." these were last words. He poked his head out from behind the tree to fire at Luke, but Luke fired faster. A bullet went through Kenny's head as he fell to the ground. As dead as a dodo, only Vince was left standing now._

_"VINCE! THE GAME'S UP!" Luke roared, fed up of these damn tree's he leapt out from his cover, taking a similar suicidal charge that Eddie had done._

_He got shot in the shoulder, but ploughed forward with an unnatural strength he landed on Vince, Vince didn't even have time to mutter any last words or leer up at Luke. Because Luke's fist slammed across Vince's face, the young man saw this as Carver all over again as he kicked Vince's gun out of reach..._

_That's when the others all met up, Christa, Rebecca, Mike, Bonnie, AJ, Nick, Clementine, Lilly and Stephanie had all located where the flare had been set off. They all found Luke, drenched in Vince's blood, Vince himself was torn to shreds in a similar way to how Carver had been mutilated._

_"Luke... w...what the fuck have you done!?" Christa snapped gazing at the corpses of Kenny, Eddie and Wyatt._

_"Luke?" Clementine called out nervously, the sound of her voice made Luke snap his head up. A new lease of life had entered his system, so... Vince was lying and he had just murdered 3 guys out of an unjustified rage? Cursing Vince more than ever he stood up and turned around to face his remaining group members, his brown orbs locked on Clementine. He... he had to lie, it was horrible, he was no better than Vince. But he had too, to stay with her._

_"V-vince... he'd gone crazy. He was lying about me raping Kelly, he admitted it. When Kenny found out... Kenny flipped but... Vince got to his gun faster. I couldn't let Vince get away with it, so... so I had too..." he finished there, sobbing immensely at not only his fake tale, but the villainous things he had done. Clementine and him embraced with a hug, as Mike looked around muttering "Fuck..." as Clementine and Stephanie backed up Luke's side of the story. He was free to lead the group once again._

_The next few days were quite stable, in fact through all the trauma they had been through people grew closer. Nick and Stephanie especially, yet one night while cuddling up to Nick. Stephanie found the scars on his wrists, recently cut and deeper than they had ever been before._

_"Why the hell are you doing this too yourself!? Stop it!" she begged of the raven haired man, but he merely shook his head as he muttered "I deserve it Stef, I..." it was then he indicated his bag set on the nearby log. It seemed to be moving, Nick didn't stop Stephanie as she peered inside and screamed. _

_"OH MY GOD... NICK...!" _

_"DON'T TELL ANYONE STEF! I... I NEED HER!" He begged._

_Their shouts woke up the rest of the camp, Nick was in the middle of it all, exposed with his wrists bleeding, Stephanie stumbled backwards, sending Sarah's head rolling out of the bag. As Bonnie vomited over the floor and Luke managed to gasp "What the fuck? Nick! Look at me!" he begged, but Nick was too far gone at this point._

_"STOP LOOKING AT ME! I KNOW WHAT YOU ALL THINK! THAT I'M STUPID! THAT I'M NOTHING! THAT I'M MAD! SARAH WAS THE ONLY ONE HERE WHO MADE ME FEEL LIKE I WAS A HUMAN...!" _

_"Nick... we... I...you're my best friend. We all look out for each other" Luke said softly, trying to soothe his agitated friend but this backfired horribly. _

_"STOP BULLSHITTING ME! THERE'S NO GOING BACK! NOT AFTER TONIGHT!" He screamed sending spit and tears flying everywhere "AND WHAT ABOUT YOU LUKE!? DON'T ACT LIKE A SAINT... WHAT HAPPENED A FEW DAYS BACK WITH VINCE, YOU EXPECT ANY OF US TO BELIEVE THAT HE SOMEHOW SNAPPED AND REVEALED ALL TO KENNY, WYATT AND EDDIE! I DON'T BELIEVE THAT! I BELIEVE YOU KILLED THEM! FACE UP TO IT...!" _

_"NICK! CALM DOWN!" Luke roared._

_"NO FUCKING WAY! HOW CAN I!? THEY RAPED AND KILLED SARAH AND FOR WHAT!? BECAUSE YOU AND STEF WERE THERE! YOU COULD HAVE AT LEAST COVERED THAT GIRL UP, THEN NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED...!" _

_"NICK PLEASE! LISTEN TO LUKE!" Stephanie begged._

_"SHUT THE FUCK UP! I THOUGHT YOU WERE DIFFERENT STEF! BUT YOU... YOU HAD TO GO NOSE AROUND... AND NOW LOOK AT ME...!"_

_"NICK! I WAS DEPRESSED ALRIGHT! I'M SORRY! I JUST THOUGHT I LOST CLEMENTINE! I...!" Luke tried to explain himself, as Nick laughed hysterically._

_"SHE'S RIGHT THERE LUKE!" He spat, jabbing a wild finger at Clementine, who backed away frightened at the argument that had erupted so suddenly. "IF YOU WANT TO BE FUCKING TRULY DEPRESSED LIKE ME! THEN I WILL KILL FOR REAL...!" Nick roared, a look of pure insanity in his eyes as he raised his gun to Clementine's form. Clementine froze, her heart leaping into her mouth she heard Lilly scream "NO!" from a world away, as Nick was about to pull the trigger..._

_BANG_

_Luke had too protect Clementine, he sobbed as he held Nick's head in his arms, having to shoot his best friend too protect her... it was the hardest yet quickest decision he had ever had to make and it had destroyed him. As Nick gulped for air and sobbed like a baby too Luke "I can still hear her laughing Luke... she's laughing at me..." he said no more as he went still. His blue eyes trained on the starry sky above. Luke sobbed into his chest as the others all looked on mournfully._

_The next morning they buried Sarah's head and Nick's body side by side before moving on, Lilly was helping a traumatized Stephanie recover from events. While Luke looked more and more lost with every passing hour, several times Christa snapped to him "Where are you going?" in which Luke would realise he was straying off track and not going north. Eventually Christa and Mike led the way, both of them discussing in hushed tones what Nick had pointed out last night, they had never heard Vince confess his crimes. Luke was breaking and Vince was right he was unfit too lead._

_"We can't stay with the group much longer, we have to grab AJ and go" Christa whispered over to Mike._

_"What about Clem?" Mike whispered back._

_Christa looked back at where Clementine was walking close by Luke, "She's a lost cause, she's too close to Luke. They'd go after us if we took Clem with us and I don't think she'd want to come anyway. We can take AJ, yes it's wrong that were taking her son away but us two. We're strong. We have enough supplies to reach Wellington, this group is holding us back.. We'd be saving AJ, we could start a new family of our own..."_

_Mike knew she was right, Luke was too unstable, he was leading the group no-where, as cruel as it seemed if he and Christa went off alone then they would save the baby. That's what the group wanted and they would do that._

_So that night, Christa (while on watch) signalled to Mike that it was time to go, they crept across the camp. Christa pried AJ out of Rebecca's grip, as they tried to tiptoe out of camp. However AJ didn't seem to happy in Christa's grip as he began to stir..._

_"No... no... no... shush... mummy's here!" Christa tried to tell the child cheerfully, but that failed as AJ cries echoed across the camp. Mike froze as Lilly (who was closest to them) snapped upwards and muttered "Whatsamatter" in a grumble, before she spotted Mike and Christa caught red handed. AJ crying in Christa's arms as they had a dozen of the groups supplies loaded on their backs, trying to sneak out of camp._

_"TRAITORS!" Lilly roared._

_BANG_

_Another shot, Lilly was dead, falling onto Stephanie's form to her side the confused young woman awoke that night to find Lilly's face looking up at her own, a red hole in Lilly's forehead. Stephanie screamed, as Mike felt regret clog his gut, he had panicked he had simply panicked. He didn't know what else to do to shut her up, he stomach turned to ice. As the group scrambled to get up, yet he met his end a second later, falling to the floor after being shot twice._

_Bonnie had no regrets._

_Christa turned to run, blind panic blocking her mind as she felt Mike fall next to her, yet it took three bullets to stop her in her tracks as she fell to the floor, still trying to crawl forwards, before she felt a shadow fall over her._

_"Not my son, you crazy bitch!" _

_BANG_

_Rebecca had no regrets._

_It was over before Luke or Clementine were even up properly, only for Clementine to learn the only links to her past Lilly and Christa were now flat out dead along with Mike. 3 people had died in the space of five minutes, it was too much to take in._

_The next morning brought colder weather and even heavier air, Christa, Lilly and Mike were quickly buried. This left Luke, Clementine, Bonnie, Rebecca, AJ and Stephanie. They were down to 6, 6 in the space of days._

_"God, how the hell did this happen" Luke thought to himself as his downtrodden group continued to trek onwards. With Lilly dead who was usually the voice of reason, Luke could feel this little group starting to break. After last night Rebecca clutched AJ to her chest like a vice lock, when Christa had fallen to the floor it had bruised the infant slightly and Rebecca was taking no chances. Bonnie was still uncertain of whether killing Mike was right but in those few seconds she was so mad with him... and as for Stephanie. What was the point of staying? She didn't even get to kiss Nick or tell him how much she loved him and now her support of Lilly was gone._

_Bonnie needed support, Luke needed support. after everything they had been through, after endless group conflicts... after everyone had killed each other. They couldn't take it anymore. Clementine found them both to Luke's horror and Rebecca's amusement, it was the first time Rebecca smiled in weeks. Bonnie herself was finally glad to have confessed her love to Luke and he loved her back, they needed each other._

_The 6 of them managed to stay like that for a few weeks, Luke and Bonnie in love, Clementine feeling like their daughter and beginning to enjoy Luke's company once again as they slowly trekked towards Wellington. Rebecca had AJ, while Stephanie still felt like an outsider but the group seemed okay... maybe... maybe she would stay. _

_And then the snow started._

_Rebecca let out a grief stricken scream one night, the snow fell heavily and they were all freezing, fingers blue, feet numb. Camp-fires were extinguished in the blizzard, everyone tried cuddling together to conserve body heat. But it wasn't enough, the infant still died of hypothermia._

_If only they had a truck, or any form of shelter._

_They buried AJ in a small mound, Rebecca bawling her eyes out being led forward by Bonnie. Rebecca was dead to the world as the blizzard raged harder against them, passing the "WELCOME TO THE STATE OF OHIO" sign, Clementine dimly acknowledged that they were making progress, but for everyone that had died. Her second chance felt like a failure now, Kenny and Sarita and the baby were dead, AJ was dead. They were only 5 of them left now._

_The baby's death dampened the mood for a few days and what was worse is that they were almost out of food. They were running low on ammo due to the bullets being used to scare pursuing wolves off. Yet that day it was Luke who made the decision for them to spilt up into groups to try and find an animal to eat._

_Luke was with Clem, Rebecca was still motionless around the fire. Stephanie offered to watch her as Bonnie assured Luke she would be fine on her own. Luke should have gone with her... they should have all been together why had he let Bonnie go alone? Oh why? The gun was low on ammo... why? Bonnie must have tried to shoot at a squirrel or something and ran out of bullets. She was alone when the wolves surrounded her, she screamed for Luke who heard her distant screams._

_He arrived to late. Bonnie was ripped to shreds, a grey wolf was munching on her skull as it cracked and grey-ish brains leaked out. Clementine fired the shot that scared them off, but Luke glanced at the tree. The last thing Bonnie had managed to crave into it, she must have known she was going to die, so the simple message o made Luke shred so many tears. Her last words were basically "I love you"._

_It was just like Jane, he failed his new love. He was useless, he had never been there for her._

_Bonnie's death left four of them, they had no food. They were going to starve and with this in mind Stephanie went to desperate measures, she said she found "meat" from a squirrel, but even Clementine knew they were eating chunks out of Bonnie's legs and ... the St. John's were monsters for doing that._

_Now they were the monsters, that's how low they had sunk._

_Bonnie didn't taste nice, but she was a source of food. Rebecca only ate a tiny portion before curling up and falling asleep, she was so lost in grief Clementine doubted she knew whether the meat was human at all. Luke must have known he was eating Bonnie too, but he simply ate on without compliant. Too lost in his own depression to do a thing, instead he dully announced to the group that he was going for a short walk. Stephanie acknowledged this with a nod, as Luke wondered off, gun in hand._

_"You should get some sleep" Stephanie told Clementine._

_"It's cold" she moaned in reply._

_"I know, but you'll need your energy for tomorrow" Stephanie told her warmly, as Clementine lay down on the rough earth and shivered._

_"I'm worried about Luke" she told the raven haired woman._

_"So am I" was Stephanie's response._

_And it was because of that Stephanie decided to finally leave. This group was finished, Clementine drifted off as Stephanie grabbed all the remaining hunks of meat that were once "Bonnie" she looked back at Clementine's form. Mouthing "sorry" before she ran off into the wilderness, taking her own chances. Never to be seen again._

_Luke had just finished relieving himself, trying to deal with all the stresses and grief of Bonnie's death. Realising how low he had sunk, lying to the others, murder, cannibalism... what next? As if someone could hear his thoughts a figure emerged from the tree-line._

_"It will all end tomorrow Luke" _

_Luke jumped in surprise, the leader of the cult smiled back at him, as Luke felt his pulse race he had long forgotten about the cult. He assumed those freaks had lost tail of them, but now here that leader was... still in Pete's skin._

_"I thought you'd leave us alone" Luke told him, as the cult leader merely laughed._

_"Oh no, we've been watching. We've been watching everything, thank you Luke. Thank you for making the perfect example of a group, it was very entertaining to watch" _

_and before Luke could enquire further, the leader of the cult was gone, his words lingering in Luke's brain. It would all end tomorrow? Luke was so down he knew it would probably end tomorrow with or without the cult being there._

_He returned to camp, mind numb as Clementine stirred lightly and looked up at him. There was no need for words, he simply pulled her into a bone crushing hug and held onto her as the pair of them drifted off to sleep. Clementine warm in Luke's embrace as she managed to get a peaceful sleep... she had no nightmares or any dreams that night. _

_It was only in the morning when Luke realised that Stephanie was gone, he didn't question it. Yet Rebecca did as she croaked "Luke, where's Stephanie?"_

_"Gone" was Luke's sullen reply, as the remaining trio let this fact rest on their shoulders, the blizzard blew around them harder than ever, with empty stomach's and feeling exhausted, with Stephanie's departure lowering their spirits further, the final three, Rebecca, Luke and Clementine stomped onwards through the snow. _

_It went on for hours,until eventually Rebecca fell in the snow. Exhausted. Luke turned back to her to see she had fallen but he didn't have the strength to go back and carry her. Besides... she was standing up herself now..._

_Rebecca was dead. She had either died of exposure, or lack of food, or had simply lost the will to go on. Rebecca was made of tough stuff and walked on until the very end, right until her body couldn't take anymore. Clementine held back a sob as Luke and her proceeded onwards, leaving Rebecca's walker lingering in the blizzard as it stumbled around. Soon Rebecca was far behind them, as Luke managed to weakly shout "LOOK!" Clementine saw a small playground come into view along with a small building which only meant one thing._

_Shelter._

_The building as freezing, but as Luke and Clementine stumbled inside they guessed it was better than nothing, propped up against the walls Luke and Clementine tried to regain their breath._

_"Can we sleep here tonight Luke? I'm exhausted" Clementine mumbled onto Luke's arm._

_"We'll see" he replied, he may have been in shape but even he was out of gas, so how Clementine was still standing was a mystery to him. But that little girl was tough, he flashed her a small smile which she returned. _

_Then their faces dropped as the first of the cultists horns sounded from outside._

_"Oh shit..." Luke roared about to get up and run, but it was too late. Hundreds of silhouettes were emerging from the white haze of the blizzard, the leader of the cult was right. It was over, Luke knew it and Clementine knew it as the ran up to Luke and clutched his leg, tears forming in her eyes as Luke told her softly "Be brave Clem, close your eyes and...and it will all be over soon..." _

_He got no further the cultists tore the doors of their hinges as a cold breeze blasted through the small area, they approached on all sides, as Luke grabbed Clementine and tried to pull her closer to him. But the cultists were too strong... they pried the girl from Luke's fingers as he screamed "NO!" as she screamed "LUKE!" In horror. He tried to fight these freaks but they were everywhere... bodies closed in around him, as they beat him down, and stripped down until he was nude. With the breeze blowing through the building... he was frozen._

_Clementine was screaming, despite his own beating, he screamed at the cultists to "LET HER GO! yet they simply seemed to laugh at him, eventually Luke was thrown next Clementine (also stripped and beaten) they were free to move, but the cultists blocked any form of escape as Luke heard someone clap slowly as the leader of the cult came into view._

_"I told it would end today Luke, but y'know... I don't want this show to end just yet. Maybe you can entertain us for a bit longer?" he enquired with a raised eyebrow behind Pete's skin, as the other cultists all laughed in a sinister manner._

_"Now Luke if you and that little girl want to live... I suggest you... obey what I say. Because we here can give you, your clothes back, your food back, and give you a head start"._

_"Fuck you!" Luke spat up at him as the leader only smiled back at him._

_"No, you fuck her" he instructed._

_Of everything, of everything he had been instructed to do, or what people had told him. Nothing had come close to the horror of which this order contained, he wanted Luke too... Luke scrunched his eyes shut. Vince had told him to rape a 15 year old he didn't know, he refused to do that. No way in hell was he going to rape a 12 year old who was like a little sister to him._

_"NO FUCKING WAY!" Luke roared, as the cult leader merely laughed as several cult members followed suite... they were even children there... what the fuck was wrong with them? The cult leader's mysterious vibe had faded somewhat, his voice was louder, his words more crude. The man behind the skin of a former father figure of his was starting to reveal his true colours now..._

_Now... there wasn't much left to play with._

_"Do it, or she dies" the leader instructed of Luke, as a dozen ends of guns found Clementine's shaking form, as the young girl shielded her form, tears fell from her yellow eyes as she whimpered "L-l-luke..." _

_"Come on, show her that you lurve her country boy!" one of the cultist's yelled, unable to contain herself._

_"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH Y'ALL!?" He shouted but he received no answers, he yelled directly to the cult leader "WHY NOT KILL US BEFORE IF IT'S WHAT YOU'RE DOING NOW! WHY WATCH US SUFFER AND KILL US NOW!" He roared._

_"Because you were going to die anyway, now we can intervene, so do what you have told Luke. Or she will die" The leader of the cultist told him._

_Luke looked down at Clementine, looking into her eyes, Luke sighed and muttered "I am so sorry Clementine..."_

* * *

_Luke could not believe he had done it._

_He felt disgusted with himself, as Clementine whimpered on the floor and he simply remained in place, as the cult leader muttered "Very well done, see here everyone! Luke is my bitch! He'll do whatever I tell him too, but alas I think this little experiment is over" and without another word he fired one bullet into Clementine's brain as the 12 year old lay dead. Luke's heart missed a beat as he screamed "NOOOOO!" In horrified grief, his world falling to pieces, as he sobbed at the cult leader "You fucking liar... you..." but he got no further the cult leader had a knife at Luke's throat. _

_"You see Luke, I can do what I want because I can. Besides you raped Clementine not me, you could have refused and both died... it was **you** that did it, not me! You failed, like I expected you too, now fucking die..."_

_and with that he silt Luke's throat. Luke fell to the floor in agony... his world going black..._

_and then he woke up again with Stephanie's face hovering above his own. He was certain it was dream, he was sure of it. But he found his lips moving, the last thing he had seen when he died had been the faces of all of those he had loved and Jane had been one of those faces... he called for her as Stephanie responded. No, it was only her._

_ and this time he said things to her, and then he realised... he was back. Back where it all started._

_He kept it too himself but his first course of action was too cover Anne's form, if what Nick had been ranting about was true. Maybe... just maybe this would spare Sarah. Maybe this would spare Nick's insanity, at least Anne was covered (the walkers were incoming so there was no time to bury her). Marisol would realise that they did have morales... and maybe she wouldn't kill Sarah. Maybe the cold hearted woman would offer a shred of sympathy that would avoid disaster._

_That was his first course of action to make things right as he planned out his second, speak to Stephanie keep her around... fix all of the mistakes he had made..._

Luke finished his tale, and exhaled emotionally exhausted at recounting it all, he looked up at everyone. He mentioned everything, AJ's death, Stephanie leaving, shooting Nick, Him and Bonnie and what he did to Clementine and the cultist leader's words.

"Well... shit" was all Eddie said after a while of silence.


	43. Getting The Facts

**A/N: Okay... onto answering reviews and YESSSSS! 600 REVIEWS! I never thought I'd reach this landmark and this story is now the second most reviewed on this site (I know I keep mentioning it, but It's a strange habit of mine) either way I'll thank you all again for the billionth time and get onto answering your reviews.**

**olliboy123- hmm... if he did I imagine he would tell everyone about how far along Sarita really was, so they'd get the meds. The russians would still be after the meds but the conflict could have been died down or averted. Kenny could have stopped Eddie firing the bullet that led to the conflict. and let Nick talk some sense into Vitali, no one shot each other meaning Stef wouldn't have crashed the truck. Avoiding Marisol's group the group would carry on the first truck Sarita will have given birth with the meds needed to survive, Kenny would have been sane... hence avoiding his death. They could have reached Wellington without too much hassle. **

**BlackGalaxyStars- I always love a long review that sums up thoughts on characters and what the reader makes of them, so I loved reading your review and I hope I can continue to entertain you this chapter (well I say entertain... not that I'm going to make cry or anything like that... nope. Nope not at all.)**

**CCA. .AcP.496- a new reviewer! Welcome and yes, you were warned about last chapter. Still you're right Clem could use a cookie now.**

**Ayuka86- The blizzard won't a problem unless something happens to the truck...**

**ffapathy- I imagine Molly, Stephanie and Nate were the only survivors of Luke's pre life, Nate simply rode his truck onwards never encountering the others or the cult. Molly kept on going I imagine she'd be strong like that, and since the cult were focused on Clem/Luke near the end of the pre-life I imagine Stephanie was a 50/50 if the cult didn't get her than the blizzard probably did, or she probably somehow survived. It's like Jane, she was the only survivor of Clem's pre life, looks like it's Stef this time round and this fact will not go ignored I still have a few more twists up my sleeve...**

**Anyway I'm glad Luke's pre-life explained his determination to protect Clem, not only out of how much he cares for her, but a strong sense of guilt and trauma has also propelled him to act the way he has. **

**newsupergodzilla38- (Like your name by the way) Thanks for your kind words, making this into a book, comic or a video game would be awesome although I doubt it happen I can still dream.**

**Justsomeguy23- Okay... a lot of cult leader hate now.**

**transfrmersfan2013- I wanted to reference the stranger, how he went to ruin and how Nick went to ruin in a similar way, one of Nick's greatest flaws is his inability to let go of the past. (As shown in the game when he blames himself for stuff and grieves for Pete and his mother) this is a trait that got Nate killed in the end, and I imagine (in an alternative world where things got worse) this would be Nick's end as well.**

**emilyrose727- thank you! **

**bubbles2k100- Yep, I get the Irish slang (I'm quarter Irish myself) and I love how you want to see mama bear Rebecca's reaction, you know shit has hit the fan when you cross her.**

**A Writer With Mixed Interests- Another cabin group fan! Yep they were great people!**

**Kristal-Dynamite- I'm glad you like the way I write the characters as it means a lot to me to know I'm doing a good job with everyone**

**Chameishida- You're right about Bonnie's part, and that will be expanded upon this chapter.**

**transformer's g1's-prime- Yep, I think Eddie's words summed up the chapter perfectly and a lot of reviewers seem to summarise this chapter with Eddie's words.**

**and finally thank you to everyone else who reviewed and read last chapter!**

* * *

"and what about the stream? What did the cult leader say to you there?" Rebecca finally asked of Luke, the encompassing silence around the truck was too heavy on everybody's shoulders.

"He... he didn't say much. He just..." Luke gulped as he remembered.

_"I need the kids, Luke" came a voice, Luke's gun was too far away from him and he didn't make any effort to try and grab it anyway. Instead he continued to gaze down at his own daunting reflection in the moonlit stream._

_"Why?" he simply spat at himself more than the cult leader. He knew that business-like tone from anywhere yet he didn't look up at the man he loathed. He tried to control his breathing... remembering now what the cult leader had done to him the previous time. _

_"You know, don't you?" Luke asked of him, still staring at his reflection._

_"I know what? I know a lot about your group Luke, but I do not know what you are enquiring about? I merely ask for the babies, I want to raise them under the cult's protection. They would be safe, I want AJ and Sarita's baby when it is born, I will ensure members of my group direct you to a truck so you will be able to reach Wellington more quickly. I am saddened we couldn't come to a deal back at the hardware store, but as long as you give me the children..."  
_

_"You'll brainwash them! and no way in hell I am stealing babies and handin' them too you! Just kill me if that's what you want! But leave the kids outta this" Luke seemingly begged of the emotionless grey eyed man in front of him, as he finally glared up at the man. Still standing tall in Pete's decaying skin._

_"I cannot do that. I shall walk away in a minute but you shall hand me the kids and you shall keep on moving and trying to get to Wellington" The cult leader announced, as Luke gazed at him. Even under Pete's skin mask he retained his mastered pokerface, the last time Luke had seen the cult leader (in this life) had been before they left Howe's. Was it possible the cult leader didn't know about his second chance? The cult leader was the one who went savage in the end. Was that the man behind the mastered pokerface. A savage?_

_Luke knew it was, but it appeared that the cult leader didn't know of his second chance, if the cult leader's memories had been erased back to the point of when his cult was chasing his own group into that giant herd... then what had changed? He hadn't asked for the babies the first time, had Luke saved more people this time? Leading to the cult leader trying to take action. He was so muddled in his own thoughts that the cult leader asked him "Are you considering the prospect, it would be most wise to do so"._

_"I ain't agreeing to any of this shit" Luke retorted as the cult leader merely sighed and proceeded back towards the treeline._

_"You will agree to it Luke. In a few days time you shall give me the babies, regardless of Kenny and Rebecca's reactions. You will see, you don't want AJ... getting cold. He will be alive with us, and you... you don't want anything horrible to happen to Clementine. Rest assured if you refuse our deal and refuse to hand over the babies, we will have to do... terrible things for those that deny our beliefs"._

_He winked at Luke. _

_Luke knew that tone, he must have known something yet Luke continued to play the game, in the same way he pretended he didn't know about the cult leader wearing Pete. He wasn't going to break down and confess all to this cult leader who probably knew it all anyway. But if there was a chance he didn't... then Luke would continue to act oblivious._

_"Remember, you always have a choice" The cult leader sang back at him._

_"Yeah, to either do horrible shit to survive or simply die. That's the choice I've been given" Luke snapped back at where the cult leader walked into the frozen foliage. _

_"It's still a choice though" were the cult leader's final words to Luke before he departed. Leaving Luke alone at the stream, he did not tell anyone about the cult leader's visit and that offer, there was no way in hell he'd do it. That was until Bonnie was given back to him with that message scrawled on the skin cape_

_That stunned Luke to the core, he knew what it meant. The cult leader did indeed know about his second chance. Not only that but he knew about the people he had failed. The people he was going to fail, Luke had to ensure what happened to Clementine, and what happened to everyone did not happen again. With the cult leader's words ringing in his skull, he set about his task of handing the babies to the cult leader._

_But... what if it was just like last time? What if the cult killed them anyway?_

_Luke had his doubts but he was willing to go through anything to save them all._

"But the cult leader told us nothing about offering the kids to him, he told me and Kenny that he expected us all to stay at that house until midnight, but then he goes and brings us a truck anyway... what the hell is that all about?" Rebecca asked of them all, as the group thought about this hard, trying to come up with some sort of logical answer.

"His just... playing mind games with us" Eddie said, as Stephanie gasped.

"No, don't you get it? We all knew Kenny was on edge and then the cult leader fills his head with rubbish about a traitor, one he labels the one with the second chance. He knew Luke wouldn't go on blabbing about the fact that he had a second chance, even more so when offered the deal about stealing the kids..."

"but why didn't you just tell us about the opposing deal Luke!? It could have spared us some hassle..." Rebecca moaned to a sullen looking Luke.

"I... I was scared Rebecca, I was shaken up because I realised the cult leader knew about my second chance and then Kenny rants on about findin' a traitor... what was I supposed to say!? That he was right! That I was plannin' on takin' the kids to that messed up motherfucker!? I wanted to protect everyone but..."

"No" Stephanie cut in, Luke became silent as his eyes found Stephanie's the raven haired woman picked up the conversation once again "You only came clean because Clementine did and she got hurt. You wanted to protect Clementine more than all of us because you felt guilty about what you did to her beforehand, that's why you only confessed everything. To protect her, you couldn't handle the guilt anymore. The cult leader has been observing us all, he knows what you're like Luke. He knew from the minute you didn't blurt out that he was wearing Pete's skin that you were..." she paused there as Luke glanced at her nervously.

"He knew your pride would get in the way, he knew you wouldn't blabber to the others about his offer, you didn't want too believe that he also had memories of what happened the first time around. So you didn't bring it up too him all that happened, in case it spurred him to act on again. He scared you into submission Luke before you even realised it was happening" Stephanie's wise words of wisdom crashed over a shocked looking Luke, as he realised that was the truth.

"Did you earn a degree in psychology overnight?" A gawking Eddie asked the fountain of knowledge that was Stephanie.

"No, I was just... trying to be someone I'm not" Stephanie muttered sadly, remembering Kenny's harsh words towards her. Nick patted her back somewhat as she smiled at him, she coughed as all eyes rested on her, expecting her too continue as she did "If you listen and watch it all begins to add together. Kenny was at breaking point, the cult leader tells us all we should stay at a house. While telling Bonnie to keep on moving and promising Luke a truck, he planted those differing seeds in our heads. He knew there would be conflict and doubt amongst us" Stephanie lectured.

"Meaning?" Bonnie asked.

"Meaning, judging from the fact he actually got us a truck that he does want us to keep on moving, but... he wants us to suffer at the same time as well. In fact the cult have given us a head start, they haven't directly killed any of us, they... gave us a truck. They look... almost generous to us"

Nick held back a hacking laugh as he managed to gasp "Yeah... nice my ass. They keep us on the move, we ran in fear of them! They're the reason were out here... they..."

"But we had a choice, regardless of what the cultists have done. They weren't the one's who made us spare Vince, or made Kenny go insane... can't you see! We had a choice!" Luke shouted remembering the leader's last words to him at the stream. As these words fully rested on his shoulders.

"The leader made us deals, deals to spare us. But he knew we'd reject them, he has been secretly encouraging us to move the whole time, his simply watched us go to ruin, his watched us kill each other... but... his been messing with us. Behind the scenes those subtle little things his played on, Luke's pride, his fear of what could go wrong... asking to take the babies he knew that would lead to conflict..."

"He wants a show, he found us entertain' to watch" Luke grumbled.

"The first time he didn't intervene, until the end. Where he showed his true colours when he killed Clementine and Luke, but... now Luke's changing things his intervened. He pretended to kill Bonnie to remind Luke that they were still in charge. Luke was scared, him stealing the babies would have come out at some point, Rebecca, Kenny, Luke... it would be war. But... it's what this guy wants. He wants us to destroy each other" Stephanie concluded as she looked around at the remaining members of the group.

"Except this time, it seems like he wants us to do it. Back at Howe's when I killed those watchdogs, they told me the cult leader was right, what about I didn't know. But now... now I get it. I know what they want from us!" Stephanie's eyes almost seemed to bulge out of her head as the conclusion finally dawned on her, it was too damn obvious now, why hadn't she seen it before!

"Oh, come to the big conclusion of what the cultists want?" Molly asked, glancing back at the others who all remained huddled in the back seats of the truck, Stephanie nodded in response as Molly was tempted to draw the truck to a stop, but she kept her fingers locked around the wheel. However Molly tried to listen on every word while the rest of the group leaned forwards into their seats to hear the cult's motive.

_"Were a test"_ Stephanie uttered.

Needless to say, this left many of the truck-dwellers shaking their heads in confusion, or blankly staring at the young woman as if expecting her to say more, finally Eddie muttered "So... um... what the hell do you like... mean?"

Stephanie blinked, diving into a full explanation.

"We've just been a test this whole time, the cult... we've established their unstable because they shoot down tons of people for denying their beliefs. They are the walking dead! Don't you get it? They are walkers! They kill anyone whose different from them, unless they_ turn_ into them! Their beliefs... they believe that the living will die and that only acting like a walker will help you survive!" Stephanie drew this conclusion as Nick gulped "Well how does their belief about being walkers prove that they are somehow right when you slaughtered those watchdogs?"

Stephanie eyes became glassy for a spilt second as she recalled the memory of those watchdogs, Sarah remembered that was the first time she had killed anyone.

"I slaughtered those watchdogs, and Sarah shot someone for the first time. We murdered them, they wanted to kill me but that was just a ploy to get the rest of us moving. They... they were right, because they were assured that they were sane and we were the monsters... and we have been!" Stephanie yelled.

"Stef..." Nick began trying to comfort her, but she was yelling now.

"BUT IT'S TRUE! IT'S LIKE LUKE SAID, WE... WE HAD A CHOICE! THE CULT HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING US, WATCHING US GO TO SHIT AND THEY'VE WATCHED US ONLY TO REINFORCE THEIR OWN BELIEF THAT THE LIVING... THAT THE LIVING ARE BAD! THAT EVENTUALLY ALL GROUPS GO TO RUIN, THEY'VE SIMPLY WATCHED US, THE LEADER HAS BEEN STIRRING HIS WOODEN SPOON, USING HIS SECOND CHANCE TO STIR UP TROUBLE AMONGST US! THEY DIDN'T PUSH THE TRIGGER, BUT THEY PRESSURED US TO DO IT...!"

"THEY'RE TO BLAME STEF!" Nick roared over her, trying to calm her down as he continued to rant "THEY DROVE US AWAY FROM THE HARDWARE STORE IN THE FIRST PLACE! THEY ARE THE REASON KENNY AND SARITA FELT THE NEED TO STEAL MEDS! THEY WERE REASON THE RUSSIANS WERE HERE TO COME INTO CONFLICT WITH THAT! THEY INDIRECTLY CAUSED THE DEATHS OF EVERYONE... THEY CAUSED US TO RUN INTO THAT HERD... KELLY DIED AND VINCE WENT NUTS... THEY ATTACKED THAT OTHER GROUP, SEPARATING THEM AND LEADING THEM TO COME INTO CONFLICT WITH US!" Nick's point was clear as the other nodded, but there was still some doubt.

"But we still did what we did, cult or not. There's no excuse for that" Sarah mumbled quietly, yet her statement sent ripples across the group.

"Baby girl, we've all done bad things but this cult... are just as much to blame" Rebecca told the trembling teenager softly, as Sarah wiped her eyes and tried to stop herself from crying. She had to be tough now, if the rest of the group could be tough then she could be tough as well.

"So... were simply a test for the cult? They just want to see us go insane, to prove that they have the morale high ground?" Eddie summarised to Stephanie who nodded, titling his head back Eddie audibly let a curse escape his lips, as Molly (as an outsider) decided to speak up as well.

"It's more than simply proving they have the morale high ground"

All heads turned towards the back of the blonde woman's wild hair, after hearing these words pour out of her mouth.

"Think about it, you go around shooting anyone that denies your beliefs. It's inhuman and it's wrong and only the saddest fuckers out there would actually agree to policy like that. From what I've seen the cult numbers thousands of people, most of them probably only agreed to put on the skin suit to avoid death. There's no way in hell all of them would be satisfied with what they are doing, as you've all mentioned a massive majority of them simply follow you and observe you. They ease their own conscious but assuring themselves they're doing nothing wrong, that were the one's doing wrong". Molly finished speaking as Bonnie piped up.

"It's like Howe's, only a few fuckers there actually agreed with Carver's policies and his brutal methods, Carver... well Bill... he started off so nice and caring and then he grew more and more power hungry... it was the same with Vince. It's always been the same, this cult leader he is one of them! Except with this whole second chance thing his actin' on what he knows" she finished speaking there as Molly nodded and continued speaking.

"It was also the same as Crawford, I'm sure a lot of people in Crawford were nice people... at one point" Molly snarled, her distaste for the community in Savannah still remained, however she managed to speak onwards to get her point across "So yeah I agree with Stef, the cult chose this group, they've been following us, testing us. Showing us that without any interference any people that deny their beliefs will eventually go bat-shit crazy. and what do you have from that?" she inquired of the group behind her.

"Evidence!" Rebecca answered correctly.

Molly clicked and nodded "You got a star Rebecca, yeah see our group is an example. An example of why they are right and our way of life is wrong. When the more sane-minded of people see us... well you guys come from a stable store and now you've been reduced to this, even they will have their doubts. They will assure themselves that why they might be doing maybe bad, but they're probably sitting in large shelters with their families not caring. Knowing that the alternative is worse, and then eventually their children will start to agree with cult's policies and BANG!" Molly shouted at the end making everyone jump as Molly muttered "It's Hitler Youth all over again" and with that she concluded her saying as everyone looked around at each other.

"So... in a nutshell the cult are following us... to assure anyone that has doubts about their policies are wrong and that by using us as the star examples, anyone not in the cult. Will go insane, turn on each other... basically the way of the walking dead is the only way" Eddie tried to summarise as Stephanie nodded.

"Yeah and like I said, they're being generous to us, offering those deals. That cult leader puts on a great façade of being so caring, of finally changing his ways and giving this certain group a chance, not a chance but multiple chances. You know, he must have a small band of really loyal followers like Carver did, these elite band of followers are the one's who know his true intentions. The rest of the cult must be sheep... believing every word that comes out of his false little mouth..." Stephanie gritted on her teeth as she grew angry with the cultists, those watchdogs, they must have been part of the leader's "elite gang", they knew what they were doing.

"I still don't get why he chose our group out of all groups around this area, he can't have known Luke had a second chance, because Luke woke up after everything that went down at Howe's..." Nick thought aloud.

"No, but he knew about my second chance" Clementine spoke up, as Nick gawked at her, before she carried on explaining "They had the skins of Pete, Alvin, Walter..."

"They... they were wearing Alvin!?" Rebecca suddenly screeched, as Clementine flinched. Completely forgetting that although Nick knew about Alvin and Walter but Rebecca didn't. Luke sighed and muttered "I'm sorry Rebecca"

She lifted her head upwards "Look, I knew about Pete... but dear God Alvin? Luke... I can handle it, in a sense the cult leader was right, why didn't you tell me about Alvin? Why..."

"THERE!" Stephanie roared as Rebecca and Luke jumped as Stephanie babbled on "See right there! His filled both of your heads with rubbish, see how quickly that led to a disagreement, it could have led to argument or a rift forming!" Rebecca blinked and mumbled to herself "Fuck" at realising how easily that cult leader had manipulated her.

"Anyway Clem, you were sayin'?" Bonnie brought the attention back to Clementine, as the patient 12 year old inhaled before having her say.

"They collected the corpses of Alvin, Walter and Pete, that slaughter at the river... they've been following us for a long time. If so they were watching us at Howe's then... I don't know whether it was the leader himself or others... but one of them saw exactly what went down the first time. What happened when we all escaped and when we all died, then one of them, I think it was the leader... was sent back with me somehow. He saw me changing things, he knew I had a second chance like him. That's why he started bringing people back, like Christa, Lilly and the Russians, he wanted to stir the pot, he wanted to prove that..." she gulped before continuing.

"He wanted to prove that even a group with a second chance... that even they without the aid of his cult would eventually go to ruin and perish. Christa was with the russians and they would bring conflict because Natasha needed the meds and Lilly came here with bandits! The guy Eddie knew in the truck... he was brought to us for the truck and for that reason... conflict and..."

"...well I'm not causing conflict so why the hell I am here?" Molly inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Because, your here to help us Molly, you've been alone for a long time, maybe the cultists think you'll clash with the rest of the group..."

"She kind of has" Nick pointed out.

"Yes thank you captain asshole, but I think what Clem is trying to say is that I'm here to prove that even the most sexy, badass, intelligent, you know all those traits and more. Yeah basically even with good ol' me in the group it will still fall apart. By some means" Molly interjection of humour caused a few people to laugh before the atmosphere in the truck turned more serious once again.

"Maybe the cultist leader wants something from you, I mean it's not often he probably comes across other people with second chances" Eddie suggested.

"Maybe" Clementine echoed.

"You know from the cult leader said the first time... when I..." Luke refused to utter the word "rape" so instead he censored the word in his vocabulary as he awkwardly continued "... yeah well at the end of my previous life. He said he did what he did, because he simply could. That's the telltale sign of a man gone mad. I think this guy's been sent back more than once, or even twice".

"So, we've gone from Carver to a time travelling guy in a skin suit? Great." Eddie mused with a layer of sarcasm.

"That would explain why he lost it near the end of your previous life, everything went perfectly beforehand. That was until he broke his cover and sanity and slaughtered you and Clem in the most horrible way...he thought you'd die anyway. But he was wrong, after witnessing that a few of the cult members must have seen him for who he really was and defected and killed him. Now from what I've gathered of the two examples of this second chance thing, you have to die to come back, so..." Stephanie voice dropped a few octaves before she spoke up once again.

"This guy's built up his mass cult through second chances, his probably messed up and died a dozen times and woken up knowing what to do a second time around. That's why he has loyal followers, he must have proven that he has these second chances to the cult. Some may not believe him, but the more chances he gets the more he proves to them. They start to believe, they start to follow, they start to obey. They start dressing up as watchdogs willing to die for their beliefs, because that power... nobody knows how him, Luke or Clem got it. It's... supernatural... maybe he promised them that they'd all wake up and get a second chance as well..."

"Jesus fucking Christ, my head hurts, This sounds like the plot to the most complex sci-fi flick I've ever seen" Eddie grumbled massaging the crinkles in his forehead.

"...So this isn't only Luke's second chance, it's the cult leader's well I dunno... tenth. and this time it seems like his mission to get this group all to die, without screwing up at the end. Although he got a second chance Luke did as well, making it more complex for him this time around..." Nick muttered as Rebecca slouched next to Eddie.

"So that's it then? That's the conclusion were coming too? The cult or the leader at least knows about Clem's second chance, they chose this group for that reason. He either wants Clem,or he wants to prove that a group with a second chance who isn't his cult will go to ruin. Or maybe he wants both. I don't know. But were being made out to be the bad guys, so the cult leader is trying to kill us off without getting his hands dirty this time. I imagine he wants us all dead and not one of us to reach Wellington alive, that's his challenge" Rebecca summarised.

"Well maybe his seen enough already, maybe his proved his point" Eddie spoke up hopefully.

"No, I don't think his done with us just yet" came Luke's opposing view.

"Either way, we've still decided that reaching Wellington as soon as possible is the best course of action. He gave us the truck to appear generous to us, he took a risk. Now let's make sure he made the wrong risk. Maybe his cult will turn on him if we reach Wellington, because all of us won't have died" Molly's words were probably the easiest to understand that day, as everyone could agree on that.

Well it was official, as the truck battled on through the snowstorm the remaining souls inside the truck knew exactly what the cult wanted from them now.

Luke himself emotionally exhausted from all the talking, and things he had to get off his chest lay next to where Clementine was gazing out of blizzard swirling around the blue truck.

"Do you still hate me?" he asked of her nervously.

She turned to face him, softly muttering "No" before returning to looking out of the window, Luke felt as if something was off as he muttered to her "Look Clem, about what I did... I'd never... I made a mistake last time. A massive one... I..."

"I know" Clementine said once again, her eyes locking on his "The others, they might know about this whole second chance, but we were the only one's who actually experienced it. I could try and comfort you like the others could, by assuring you that what you did... it wasn't real. But it was, I know it was, I know what it's like Luke. I don't hate you... I understand you now" she embraced Luke at this, as Luke pulled her further into his hug.

After what did, he was surprised all those times he had been able to hug Clementine. This time he felt even more uncomfortable know that she knew what he could be capable of. Yet by her own will she still chose to hug him and it was by this that Luke realised that he loved her like a little sister, even more so than he already thought was possible.

Guilt, yes it still propelled him to protect Clementine, but now they had both been through the same thing... they understood each other completely. The hug between them symbolised an unbreakable bond being formed, it was so similar to the one she shared with Lee... but Lee was dead. Her second chance came in the form of Luke. Luke had Jane, he loved her dearly but now she was gone and his second chance was Clementine, the little sister figure who meant the world to him.

Both of them would have to avoid making the same mistakes, if they wanted to keep each other alive.

Stephanie herself was admittedly rather smug about what she had managed to reveal about the cult, the group felt somewhat safer knowing they knew what the cult were doing. But for Bonnie, the cult had sub-missed her into silence.

They'd chuck her out if they knew she was taking the syringes the cult gave her, she couldn't move. Knowing whatever the cult had planned, they were using her as the wrecking ball, she would do the damage that they wouldn't. Those drugs, it was her choice to take them or not. Not the cult's, whatever happened would be her fault and not there's.

and she was sad enough to admit it to herself, she carved those glorious drugs more than anything right now. Almost as much as she craved Luke, she couldn't stop, her addiction had kicked it. She wished she could stop, but addicts didn't just stop, not even when the group could have been in mortal danger.

She was selfish, she knew that.

But she couldn't stop.


	44. Strange Things Happen

**A/N: okay last chapter was intense as it was loaded with information and I felt like it dragged on for quite a while. and in all honesty I had trouble writing last chapter, due to adding lots of speculation and facts in it to explain the motives of the cult and everyone's actions. Suffice to say that this chapter will move the story along and reveal who the cult leader really is.**

**Again, (as I'm getting lazy) I won't answer reviews individually but I agree with your point ffapathy that writing this whole second chance thing is making it difficult to move the story forwards, which is what I want to do at the moment. So this next chapter will clear up and any last questions and theories.**

**Okay thanks everyone once again and enjoy this chapter!  
**

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Night had descended, temperatures were far below freezing in the state of Ohio as the piles of snow covered the roads in white mounds that continued to grow, making it increasingly difficult for a certain hot-headed blonde woman to plough the blue truck she was driving through the raging blizzard.

"Any luck?" Rebecca dared ask of her, as the wheels screeched in the snow, yet the truck didn't move an inch. As an irritated Molly pulled her foot from the pedal and threw her head back in frustration "No, fucking truck, fucking stuck in inches of snow, we'll be fucking stuck here all night" she finished her mini-rant there as she held back some frustrated tears.

"We'll move it in the morning, I don't think the cult could continue to stalk us in this" Eddie told her afraid he might have provoked another angry reaction out of her. Yet as he gestured the blistering blizzard blowing past the truck Molly's eyes relaxed slightly. She was anxious to get to Wellington but even if you had superpowers, no one could survive for more than five minutes in that madness outside the truck, especially at night-time.

"Fair enough" Molly yawned as she stretched in her seat. They were stranded for the night.

But... what could go wrong?

* * *

"No boyfriend then? No husband? or nothing?" Luke inquired of Molly as the short haired blonde woman shook her head.

"No wife or girlfriend?" Nick piped up cheekily.

"No, sorry to disappoint you Nicky boy, how about you any boyfriends...?" Molly stated clearly to him, defecting his own insult as the raven haired man went red and angrily spat "No! Fucking hell no!" as the rest of the truck dwellers laughed at Nick's misfortune.

They were all sat huddled in a small circle, as cozy as could be with the blizzard raging outside. The 11 of them, (well 9 because AJ and Lilly were asleep) awake and gazing at each other in curiosity. Clementine, Sarah, Luke, Nick, Eddie, Rebecca, Bonnie, Stephanie and Molly. Because there was nothing else to do other than gaze at the blizzard and sleep. Molly had started to curiously ask if Luke ever had a wife before, in which he shook his head. Hence earning the same question from Luke addressed at Molly.

Now the whole group felt like talking, heck they needed to just talk and try and act like everything was normal. After everything they had been through and this whole "second chance" and "cult" thing, they needed to ease there wired up brains.

"You get so defensive when someone questions your sexuality Nick" Stephanie pointed out, as Nick's mouth went dry as he muttered at her "I... I'm not gay Stef, you should know that..."

Bonnie giggled to herself as Nick's eyes darted around to everyone nervously, the redhead shot him a grin "All this male pride and shit, they can't admit they have a feminine side, not one of them!" Bonnie chirped at the three remaining men, as Eddie, Nick and Luke gazed at each other. Surrounded by 6 females they had no chance of winning whatever argument was cast against them.

"Were on our own gents" Eddie observed.

"I actually feel sorry for you guys, me and Rebecca were the only girls back at the cabin and that was hard" Sarah recounted as Nick smiled at her, before Rebecca wickedly piped up "Well the tables have turned now, as sad as I am to have everyone die the way they did. I guess it's time for girl power ladies, whose with me!" she humorously placed her hand in the middle of the circle, Bonnie, Stephanie, Clementine, Sarah and Molly placed their hands on top of her's.

"To girl power!" Rebecca exclaimed as the remaining female's raised their hands and cheered, leaving the three lone male's grumbling in the corner.

"Makes me wish Kenny, Wyatt, Mike were here. If so, we would at least have equal numbers" Nick muttered.

"Hear hear!" Eddie nodded in support of Nick's statement.

"We'd still have lost every argument though, there's no crossing a woman when she's pissed" Luke whispered to the pair of them, as they chuckled amongst themselves. Clementine had to afford them that luxury, she and Luke may have been as close as could have been. But men and women certainly were different, they were some things that men had to do with men and women had to do with women. That was just the way it was, she was learning more about the world than she should have done at her 12 years, but then again it was the end of the world, you had to learn fast during times like this.

When the laughter died down, a silence descended over the group once again.

"Okay come on then Molly, were not falling for that whole _I've Never Had A Boyfriend Before_ act, pretty girl like you must have had some men in your life" Rebecca directly said to Molly as she rubbed her chin and thought hard about it. She didn't particularly like opening up to people but then again... these people didn't seem to bad. Besides Clem was with them, maybe they could be trusted.

"I had a few boyfriends in high school, nothing ever lasted, I scared them all off apparently" Molly finally admitted in a quiet tone as a low chorus of laughter broke out over the group. Gaining more confidence from this, she eagerly answered the next question that came from Luke.

"So Molly, how'd you make a livin' before all this shit started?"

"Well, I used work in holiday shops in Savannah, you know one of those people who sits behind those desks organising your dream holiday, the flights and all that shit? Yeah that's what I did, I lived with my parents and sister, never settled down always off working or travelling..."

"You liked to travel?" Stephanie asked.

"Yeah" Molly mused, her eyes shining as she spoke on in a feverish excitement about one of her favourite things "When I wasn't organising holidays I'd be going on them. Hell I liked exotic places, been to the South Africa, the canary islands, Iceland, Antarctica..."

"You went to Antarctica!" Sarah buzzed in a wild excitement as Molly smirked.

"Yeah, went on one of those ships there, adventure tourism they call it. I'd love to go again but fuck it took me a whole year to save up for that trip, and other than that... I went to Himalayas the once..."

"Oh wow, did you climb Mount Everest!" Sarah imagined the possibilities of travelling with someone, who had climbed the highest mountain in the world.

Molly laughed before uttering "No, sorry to disappoint you. I did have to climb a few big ones it was part of the trip really. I'm telling you... you think this blizzard is bad? Your hands get exposed there for a few minutes your hands could actually fall off, I saw it happen to one guy, it's dangerous, hiking" Molly lectured an obvious fact to the group.

"Then why do it?" Eddie asked the obvious.

"Just... just something I liked. I always liked the test myself, I never felt happy just being me, we only get one life and I wanted to do all that. Climb Everest, explore the world..." Molly sighed in dreamy manner, getting lost in her dreams before she remembered that she was stuck in the middle of nowhere, in a truck in Ohio. There were no airports, no tourists and no holidays to be had anymore and she doubted she would ever live to see another plane fly again.

"That explains how you could climb so well in Savannah" Clementine observed.

"Yup, being spider-man ain't easy but when you need to get out of crazy communities, it's a skill that comes in handy" Molly explained to the group.

"So what was so bad about this... this Crawford place anyway?" Rebecca felt like she was walking on eggshells as she dared utter the question Molly certainly didn't want to answer. Sure enough Molly went silent and began to curl into herself before Clementine decided to help her out.

"It was bad place Rebecca, they let all the weak people die and only protected the strong" she used the knowledge she had gained from Christa and the knowledge she had picked up when seeing Crawford with her own eyes to piece together this information. Molly smiled at her before duly muttering "Yeah and my sister was considered weak, that's... that's why I left and met Clem and the group. From there on out it was all history" she concluded her life story, exhaling. Feeling like she had ran a mile but finally glad to have opened up to some people.

Before she could find another question thrown at her, she quickly turned her dark blue eyes to Nick's form and (deciding that it was him she most liked to torture with questions) she inhaled before she managed to divert all attention from her and back to Nick "So Nick, you and Stef hey? We all know it's going on how did it start?" the abrupt question took the couple off guard. Their faces shined a beet red crimson as all eyes turned their direction, they were sat next to each other, so there was no escape.

"Yeah come on Nick, when did it all start man?" Luke inquired with a raised eyebrow.

Nick sighed, he and Stephanie locked eyes for a second before he muttered "Well... we just... a few weeks back... we erm..." Nick nervously spluttered out these words, he was certain one of these words would offend Stephanie by some means. Yet she merely grasped his balled up hand with her smaller one and helped Nick to finish his statement, "We got together a few days back, we both sort of... liked each other before that, but..." Stephanie now found it awkward to talk. Earlier she couldn't stop babbling on about all she figured out, but now... talking was difficult.

"Stef's... sweet" Nick mumbled these words so quietly that only Stephanie heard him (which was lucky, as he considered the words far to cheesy to be used in his common vocabulary) Stephanie beamed at him, as the young couple locked eyes, their nervous smiles and wide puppy dog eyes confirming a certain attraction between the pair. Nick went to lower his cap to try and cover his eyes, only to remember he didn't have a cap so with that he lowered his eyes to the ground, but their sweaty hands remained interlinked.

"Aww, you two are adorable" Rebecca gleefully squeaked.

"Are you gonna have kids?" Sarah innocently asked, as Nick seemed to cough in surprise, he never really considered the prospect of having children. "I... well me and Stef look after Lilly and she's enough, but Jesus Christ guys it's only been a few weeks. I'm... I'm not ready for that commitment, I haven't even thought about it" Nick admitted honestly.

"I think you'd be a good parents" Clementine told the pair of them, it was true that they looked a lot like a family. Especially with baby Lilly curled up on Stephanie's lap and Nick by Stephanie's side, they looked like a little family already, as Stephanie shyly uttered "Thanks Clem..."

"It's nice to talk about all this, no Cult's. no crazy second chances and all that" Rebecca told the group, who murmured in agreement.

"You know Luke I think there's another love story going on here, you and Bonnie got your freak on in another life apparently" Eddie's comment made a silent Bonnie lower her head and murmur "Now come on Eddie, were just friends here... ain't nothing..."

"B X L, Bonnie? Even in your crazed up druggie state you carved that on the tree, Bonnie loves Luke... it's written on the tree... it implies they're K-I-S-S-I-N-G...!" Eddie sang in a teasing manner as Bonnie's freckled cheeks went as red as her flaming hair and Luke covered his face with his hand and told the group "Look, things have gone differently this time guys look Bonnie, I... I like you..."

"There, he just admitted it" Molly chipped in dryly as Luke panicked.

"No I...!" Luke shouted wildly, cramming in his words as he spoke on at a hundred miles an hour "I like you as a friend Bonnie! I... didn't mean anything by it I...! Well... I... in all honesty Bonnie, I..." Luke eyes darted from Bonnie's form to the others nervously, as he licked his dry lips unsure of what to say next.

"Well, if you really wanna give this shot Luke. I... I haven't got a problem with it. I always thought... you just saw me as a friend..." Bonnie mumbled honestly, fully aware of the truck full of people by her sides, but she tried to keep her eyes on Luke, as she heard Eddie wolf-whistle to her left.

"I..." Luke laughed nervously, "I thought I lost you Bonnie, I thought I made the same mistake I did last time, letting you go off alone..."

"You only live once man, what the hell is holding you back?" Nick encouraged Luke lightly, slapping Luke's shoulder blades as Luke snapped back at him "Man, not fucking now, I...!" he turned back to Bonnie and ran his hands through his hairs, he spoke to her his tone different from the one he used with Nick, "Erm... well do you... do you want to... because I'm not saying that we should... but I think I do like you Bonnie and..." Luke trailed off, as Bonnie could no longer contain it.

The effects of her last drug made her somewhat giddy, so she leapt over to Luke and wrapped her bony arms around his neck before kissing him full on the mouth. Earning many wolf whistles and "Ohhh's!" from the observing group around them, Luke kissed her back for a few seconds as Bonnie tried to make this moment last forever as she closed her eyes and simply enjoyed the moment...

They broke apart.

"Well... wow..." Luke gasped smiling at Bonnie who placed her head on his broad chest, she listened to sounds of his rapidly thumping heart under his layers of clothing. Her dream ending, her happy ending had actually come to life here, she couldn't be happy enough. No drug could make the redhead woman as happy as she was now, Luke leant back in his seat, letting Bonnie relax from next to him, as the remaining group still giggled at him.

"Isn't it romantic!?" Sarah swooned to a dead eyed Clementine.

"Ew... that was gross" Clementine retched, being the only one the truck (apart from the babies) to be disgusted at the prospect of "kissing stuff" and relationships.

"Well, whatever happened to being friends?" Molly inquired of a beaming Luke, who seemed in a dreamy state as he gazed at the celling of the truck.

"It got murdered" he muttered blankly, still in his happy yet stunned state.

"Well a lot is happening in this truck tonight!" Rebecca exclaimed.

"Yeah it is" Eddie agreed, as Luke managed to get his head back down to earth for a few seconds to still find everyone staring at him, so much so he snapped with "What? What you still lookin' at me and Bonnie for? What's done is done, were you know..." Luke explained, as Bonnie mumbled a "Yeah, just had to get it off my chest" to back up Luke's argument.

"Just a shock, that's all" Eddie told the newest couple.

"Just a shock? Well than stop staring! Seriously it's like you expect me and Bonnie to do the horizontal dance right here and right now!" Luke's words only caused more laughter amongst those still staring at him.

"Luke that's absurd, you can't do your dirty dance in the truck you'll leave your sticky mess all over seats, hell no the truck's stopped, so you can go outside and do it" Molly told him, as Luke nodded sarcastically.

"Yeah, I think we will, in that freezing blizzard it will be fine and you guys can all watch as well..."

"Exactly, that's what we all do with our lives Luke, watch you repopulating the earth. Yep, that's our addiction from now on..."

"Well I can hardly blame ya, my body is simply amazing to look at"

"Yeah it is" Bonnie thought to herself in a guilty manner.

"As your wife I know it is, so why you cheating on me with your ginger mistress..." Molly replied.

"Sorry I forgot to mention, you're the mistress here Molly, not Bonnie".

"MY LIFE IS LIE!" Molly screamed in a mock dramatic tone causing the group to bellow and howl in laughter, as Bonnie simply held onto Luke tighter slowly falling asleep on him...

* * *

"...you've been so many places. I've only been to France and Japan" Came Sarah's moan as Bonnie awoke once again.

"I've never been to Japan though, I'd love to go there. So yeah you do have one advantage over me" Molly told Sarah, whose face brightened up, Bonnie lifted her head and gazed at where Luke was happily watching the conversations going on around the truck.

"How long was I out?" she asked.

"bout an hour or two, everyone's still awake... well nearly everyone" Luke informed her. Bonnie's blue orbs found Nick was sound asleep and Stephanie leaning on his chest, Bonnie couldn't help but smile at them, they looked so cute together she liked to think she and Luke looked the same way, never the less she knew that wasn't the case.

_"You're too ugly..." _

Christa's words came back to haunt her, she shook and held herself tighter. Knowing what she had to do, she gazed at the happy group knowing she wasn't involved in it.

"I went to Spain and England and France" Clementine was saying, remembering those holidays with her parents or on school trips.

The conversation went on and on, Bonnie held onto Luke tighter as Luke muttered "I need to pee" earning a small giggle from Bonnie she held onto him ever tighter as she mumbled into the fabric of his clothing "I need one too, we could... in fact I want too, while were both out there" Luke's eyes widened at the prospect as he hastily whispered "Bonnie! It's fucking freezing out there..."

"Blizzard looks like it's died down a bit, there's a clump of trees over there..." she pointed to a spot 100 or so feet away from the truck, as Luke shook his head.

"It's crazy..."

"We only live once Luke, well maybe you get too live twice, second chance boy..." she mused placing her fingers playfully on his nose, as he beamed at her "But, in case something does happen, you saw how short life was, you saw how easily I or the others could die or go insane. Luke I want you to love me tonight..." she pleaded of him.

"I... Bonnie when I thought I saw you die back with the wolves. I got so depressed because one of the only things I didn't regret beforehand was being with you... I... yeah. I might have two lives, or nine or a thousand but I ain't takin' no chances" Luke told her, as Bonnie smiled at him. This was perfect, it was just what she wanted.

"Hell, I'm getting tired, I think I'm gonna call it a day" Eddie yawned, as he said that Luke and Bonnie stood up at the same time, earning puzzled looks from the group. "We need the loo, don't fret we'll keep guard of each other" Bonnie informed them.

"Okay but be quick, remember we don't know where the cult could be hiding" Rebecca warned them.

"Anything moves we'll be back in this car in a jiffy" Luke promised as he and Bonnie opened the truck to the somewhat diminished blizzard outside, chunks of snow still fell slowly to the ground and it was still freezing but for Bonnie she could cope with it.

_"It was... nice talkin' to y'all"_ Bonnie announced to the group before she leapt out and into the cold night, holding back the wave of tears that stung at her eyelids.

Knowing those, were the last words she would ever say to the group.

* * *

Happiness.

For Bonnie happiness always came in the form of a syringe or some drugs that stirred some sort of chemical reaction in her brain.

Happiness without the aid of drugs was what Bonnie had tried (for her whole life) to achieve.

Now she had it.

Luke... Luke was perfect, the way he touched her, the way he kissed her, the way his hands would explore areas of her body, making her tingle in excitement as she drew his body closer to her's. His eyes were young and fresh, despite all the stress he had been through Bonnie still saw so much life and light in those maple coloured orbs of his. Compared to her drug wasted one's... her flat blue eyes didn't radiate any warmth or life, well they usually didn't maybe tonight they looked differently because she was able to find happiness, no cult's, no second chances, no Mike and Christa and more importantly no drugs to think about.

Despite the cold temperature they managed to keep each other warm with their body heat, Bonnie's arms wrapped around Luke's torso as they reached the climax, Bonnie's back arching upwards as waves of pleasure engulfed her form, when all was done she simply let herself gasp and pant onto Luke's shoulder. As he continued to hold her tight, he sure was a good hugger.

"Luke, I wish we did this the first time we were together" Bonnie honestly admitted, in response Luke combed flecks of her ginger hair from her face and cupped her bony face in his hands.

"You were there before Jane Bonnie, God... after Jane I never even realised how much you did for me Bonnie, I... I am so sorry" he apologised as Bonnie merely shushed him as she kissed him deeply, when they broke apart, she managed to speak again "It's okay Luke" she reassured him, she always loved Luke's smile, so when he smiled once again at her, the whole night lit up.

"You're still beautiful you know?" Luke told her, these were his first words of love to Bonnie, a lifetime ago back at Howe's when Carver was starting to go crazy. That charming young rebel Luke had swept Bonnie off her feet with his charming talk and Bonnie thought after everything... he was the one.

After Leland and Mike and countless others, he was indeed the one.

Bonnie saw out of the corner of her eye the awaiting syringe for her in the snow, Luke had not spotted it yet but she had spotted it instantly, the pair peeled their clothes back on. Their backs wet from lying on the frosty ground (it wasn't snow coated as it was next to a tree) but the surrounding areas were covered in a layer of snow. They simply lay on the dirt and Bonnie wished it could stay like that... forever...

"When we get to Wellington Bonnie, me and you hell after everything... we could start over you know?" Luke was babbling as Bonnie turned away from him, the tears pouring down her cheeks openly now. She wished Luke didn't speak like that, it only broke her heart even more but it was like Nick had said, Luke always moved on. He had a tougher will than she ever would, she had given up a long time ago.

Ever since Mike she had been going downhill, the cult had given her a choice of whether or not she wanted to take those drugs and she had done. She was addicted, she was helpless, she was going to die a villain she knew it. Even earlier when Luke and Molly shared that innocent banter an insane sort of jealous took hold of her as she gripped onto Luke tighter. Who knew what she was capable of in the future?

She would end up hurting Molly, she knew it, or Stephanie or even Nick. She had no hope for herself and too show that she truly loved Luke, that's what she was doing tonight by letting herself die and leaving him to find someone who was worthy of him, maybe Molly. They were both young, they both had a strong will to survive.

She gazed at the syringe in the snow, for this night only, the only night where she knew she was going to achieve true happiness over that of the artificial happiness. She could say no to that syringe, she would die drug free.

She would die free, from the cult's sick game.

* * *

"You're the only person left that I knew before" Clementine told Molly, as Molly's blue eyes softened slightly as she inhaled "Well... thanks Clem. It's nice to back, it really is. I just wish Lee was here as well" she confessed as Clementine muttered a sullen "Yeah" in agreement.

"Those two have been a while, do you think we should go and check on them?" Sarah suggested only her, Molly and Clementine were still awake, Molly merely yawned "I told you, those two are off getting their freak on, it's obvious and I don't want to see things that can never be unseen" was Molly's reasoning for being lazy.

"Well, I've seen people having sex before. It doesn't bother me, I think we should check on them just in case" Sarah argued, as Clementine seemed to nod in agreement, they both looked towards where Molly was gazing at them with half lidded eyes.

"Ah come on you two, I promise you they'll be back" Molly whined, wanting to sleep now and not wanting to go outside and freeze her ass off. Just too confirm to two girls that Bonnie and Luke were indeed an item.

"I'm still going anyway, they only went into those tree's over there" Clementine said pointing at the clump of trees. The 12 year old silently opened the truck door as she slipped out and into the blizzard. Well it wasn't a blizzard any more, but it was still cold never the less and snow continued to floor. She heard Sarah's footsteps crunch on the snow behind her.

"Hey we should wake someone up! Hey! Goddamn it...!" Molly snapped finally losing her cool and proceeding to get out of the truck herself and follow the two anxious girls towards the clump of trees. Molly gripped Hilda in her one hand, while Sarah and Clementine both had their pistols at the ready, Clementine more so than Sarah.

Clementine knew something was off, Bonnie words to the group just before she left sounded... too emotional to be causal, maybe Clementine was just being paranoid.

But it was always better to be paranoid and a nuisance, then laid back and the reason your friends were dead.

* * *

"To think, hours ago we... we didn't discuss now... BANG! Here we are, it's funny how things work ain't it?" Luke asked of Bonnie, he was still trying to get his coat back on while Bonnie tried to keep her voice calm.

"Yeah, yeah it is" Bonnie said, Luke couldn't tell she was crying.

Bonnie turned away from the syringe and back at Luke.

She knew the second she refused those syringes she was no longer the cult's wrecking ball, she knew the cult would have no further use of her. Other than to kill her, it was the only way forward to devastate Luke into grief and madness. Besides the cult wouldn't feel guilty about killing her...

She left Sarita, Kenny and Rebecca when they needed her most, she was the junkie of the group. She chose those drugs over her friends lives that was fact and she continued to do so. She was never going to stop and if she was truly selfless she'd come out here alone, refuse the drug and then be shot down. Only to be found later by some devastated group member, but she dragged Luke out here as well. Putting him in danger all because she wanted one last dosage of "pleasure" with him.

She was still a villain, it was like how they killed Kenny. He must have gone down like a madman, slaughtering cult members so there was an excuse to kill him. The cult were doing her group a favour by killing Kenny, he was the weakest link and now that weakest link was her. It was her time to die an enemy of the cult, they would have their reasons for killing her. She chose to be selfish and have sex with Luke rather than simply die alone and keep them all safe, she was the drug addict they'd reveal that to the group.

Luke looked up, he noticed Bonnie was crying openly, tears streamed down her face as she sniffed.

_"I'm sorry Luke"_ she sobbed.

"Bo..." he began taking a step towards her, but he never got to her in time.

BANG!

Bonnie fell to the floor, the singular bullet slicing through her skull as brains leaked from her head and onto the snow. Her body crumpled at an odd angle as it collapsed onto the bed of snow below her. Luke blinked, he processed all he had seen before he let out a bellow of grief, "BONNIE!" he screamed not caring who heard him. He skidded in the snow falling at the knees near to Bonnie's head.

"No... No... NO!" He roared on repeat, in disbelief of what he was seeing he grabbed fistful's of Bonnie's pinkish coloured brain and tried to cram them back into the hole in her skull, "No... no... come on Bonnie please! You'll pull through this! Come on stay with me!" Luke was uttering under his breath, staining his hands with blood, as it leaked onto his knees and seeped into the snow around him.

"No... please God... why!? FUCKING WHY!? NOT A FUCKING AGAIN! ARE YOU FUCKING TAKING THE PISS! FUCK YOU!" Luke exploded, bursting into a fresh round of tears as he cradled Bonnie's limp body in his arms, as the tears mingled with the blood on the snowy floor as she rocked her corpse slowly in his arms sobbing and bawling like a little boy "Not again... I can't do this without you Bonnie... not again...no... not again...please... please let me wake up now... please... no... no..."

"Ah, what a mess. but we had good reason to kill her Luke, she knew she was holding you back. Yet she brought you out here anyway for her own selfish reasons"

Luke was going to murder that damn cult leader, and fucking shove glass shards down his fucking throat and watch him fucking choke on it. and Luke would stand there and laugh...

He looked up to see the cult leader emerging from the trees except this time he had company as more walker clad forms came out of the foliage with him, all carrying guns. Never the less Luke's eyes burned, he didn't care what happened it was time for fucking pest to die.

"I'm going to watch you die and I'm gonna laugh" Luke told him, staring directly into his grey eyes and Luke proceeded to laugh hysterically at him.

"Amusing" the cult leader commented after Luke had finished laughing, his insane howls echoed throughout the trees, as the cult leader turned back to Luke and growled with a more sinister tone "Now... I want the kids Lu..."

A bullet whizzed out of nowhere as one of the cult members fell dead to the floor, the startled cult leader stumbled backwards just in time as the blur swiped at him, it cut the cult leader's face but he lived.

Another bullet rang out and another cultist fell dead.

"NOBODY FUCKING MOVE!" A cultist spat, guns clicked, from where they were stood Clementine and Sarah found barrels of a dozen guns aimed at their heads, as Luke gazed at them in fear of their lives now. First Bonnie... no they couldn't take Clem! Not again!

"Drop the fucking guns or we blow your fucking brains out" a cultist told the two girls, to Luke's relief they did as they were told. As Sarah glanced over at where Bonnie lay and whimpered "Oh no... B-Bonnie..."

Clementine gazed down, grief stricken at the site of her old friend truly lying dead this time. She gulped as her eyes met Luke's he was crying and Clementine could hardly blame him.

"You... drop the damn blade lady!" the leader of the cult himself spat at where Molly was frozen in place, Hilda raised high above her head, damn she almost managed to get him as well, oh well she left a nasty little cut on his face anyway...

"DROP IT!"

A sighing Molly dropped Hilda onto the snow below her.

The cult leader seemed enraged, he held one hand to his face as blood leaked from it, Pete's face mask was starting to slip off as another cultist asked "Are you okay?"

"Fine!" The leader spat back in haste, cursing under his breath the cult leader had no choice but too raise his head and finally meet Clementine's eyes.

Pete's sliced up skin face fell from the cult leader's own face, as did his eyes... or flaky grey eyes. It occurred to Clementine then those eyes had not been his at all, they seemed like flaky bits of skin resembling eyes, to make them look greyer in colour than they really were.

The cult leader's real eyes...

_Were bright green._

A large cut was evident on the cult leader's pale skin, extending from cheek to cheek as he covered it and grunted. Under Pete's scalp, Clementine saw that the pale man had a lock of dull brown hair and he seemed to have very full lips.

Clementine recognised this man instantly and her world seemed to fail and crash and burn.

Who had done this all before? Who had gone to great lengths to stalk Clementine's group after they stole supplies from his car? Who else tried to make her old group look like bad guys? She should have known it was him all along... but he was dead! She shot him in the head! How the fuck was he here!?

"Hello again Clementine" he greeted her with.

The stranger was back.


	45. The Real Monster?

**A/N: Okay another short author's note, I won't answer individual reviews and in future stories I may start answering reviewers with PM's, as I understand that these author notes can sometimes break the flow of a story, either way I'll get onto answering the general questions.**

**In this canon Clementine shot the stranger in the head after Lee didn't kill him, however all is not as it seems and I can reveal not everything we see or read and not even Clementine's own thoughts are reliable in this story, as you'll learn in this chapter. Also just because someone says someone else is dead doesn't mean they are.**

**Also another fun fact, the last chapter was originally going to be called "Stranger Danger" but that would have spoiled it for anyone reading and skimming through chapter titles.**

**Right, onto this chapter!**

* * *

"How... YOU'RE DEAD! I KILLED YOU!" Clementine broke out of her frozen stupor to bellow these snarled words of hatred towards the bleeding stranger in front of her. It was all because of him that Lee was dead, he lied about her parents in the first place! He...!

"I didn't do anything wrong Clementine" his business like tone was off, but it was replaced with his much softer yet more sinister one. As his deep green eyes scanned Clementine's petite form, her eyes were narrowed in distaste of him.

"YOU DID EVERYTHING WRONG!" Clementine screeched at him through the cold and bitter air of the small forest, the extent of hatred in her voice even made a few of the cultists shuffle uncomfortably, yet their guns remained trained on the 4 non conformists standing (or in Luke's case) sitting in the snow.

"Did you know him?" Sarah asked the furious 12 year old to her left, Clementine didn't turn to face her friend, yet she managed to give a hissed explanation that consisted of "He was the person who took me from Lee, he was the reason Lee got bit and Ben died because they came through Savannah looking for me! You... you...!" Clementine was furious as Sarah remembered her tales about this man. This "Stranger" who had abducted Clementine and held her in the Marsh House, using her as a façade of the children he had lost.

"And your group stole food from my truck, resulting in the deaths of my family, you shot me, you refused my deals of peace and safety and instead you ran from me. You shot a panicking man to death, you've killed members of my cult who've done nothing to you other than watch you. After all the head starts we've given you, after providing you with a second truck after you lost your first, after bringing back old friends of yours for morale support, this is how you repay me?" the stranger asked of Clementine.

"IT'S BECAUSE OF FUCKING YOU THAT WE LEFT THE STORE IN THE FIRST PLACE! YOU DREW THOSE WALKERS THERE! YOU KNOW IT! YOU WOULD HAVE KILLED US IF YOU CAUGHT UP WITH US!" Clementine screamed.

"That store was going to fall anyway, you were running out of supplies. Stephanie told my watchdogs all they needed to know about the inner troubles of that hardware store, you weren't safe there Clementine. I was never planning on killing you, remember you always had the option of joining us rather than make a stupid decision to dive into the herd of walkers" he told her calmly.

"Yeah, you could have told us that rather than pretend you were going to kill us. You had a loudspeaker why not use it?" Sarah asked of him, as the stranger's eyes found the 16 year old girl as he sighed and tutted his head "I see Sarah, you feel guilty about the whole herd scenario. Did Alex really deserve to die? To be ripped to shreds like that? Even if we did use that loudspeaker you wouldn't have stopped. You would have kept on running, remember you always had a choice and all you people do is make the wrong one's..."

"Well tell us the fucking right choice then!? What the fuck do you want us to do!?" Luke spat at him.

"Join us" The stranger said simply, his short words leaving a profound silence over the rest of the group.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me, right? I don't want to walk around all day and night in walker skins thank you very much" Molly scoffed, breaking the impressive silence, as the stranger glared openly at her.

"The skins are meant to symbolise how were not human any more..." the stranger began.

"Damn fucking right you ain't!" Luke retorted, but the stranger carried on as if he hadn't heard Luke speaking at all.

"... that were like the dead. We simply exist to survive, the dead don't kill each other. The dead don't turn on each other, we live in harmony going about our daily lives. Besides it safer to walk around in skins, the dead won't kill you then. If you join them, if you live amongst them. Life is peaceful..."

"Yeah I'm getting a very Zombie-Buddhist type of vibe from this, what are your rules? Meditate and pray to ZombieGod three times a day?" Molly interrupted him sarcastically, the stranger's patience wavered, his face starting to turn as beet red as the blood that flowed from the gash across his cheeks.

"I'd stop Molly, you've already hurt me, do you think angering me is going to get you anywhere other than dead?" he demanded of her.

"Yeah you won't do anything to me because of your whole, _we can't harm anyone without a good fucking reason _policy, that's right, we got your cult figured out, you can't..."

BANG!

Molly screamed and fell to her knees, one of her kneecaps bleeding heavily as the golden bullet wedged itself in her flesh. Falling into the freezing snow she groaned and clutched her knee, eyes scrunched shut in agony as she muttered "You... fucking... fuck!" as she rolled on her back slightly. The stranger's face was impassive, the gun he had fired was firmly grasped, in his white knuckled hands.

"Jesus Boss, this isn't what were about!" One of the cultists (he sounded like an older man) exclaimed as he took a few steps forward.

"I am sorry Boyd, I didn't mean to do that" The stranger apologised to him, the older man didn't look to happy but he accepted this apology as he muttered "I understand you'd get angry, but remember we don't intervene, isn't that what you wanted to prove to us? Didn't you want us to see that this selected group would fall apart...?"

"That's exactly what I'll prove to you all, I made a mistake. But I didn't kill her, so all is well"

"ALL IS FUCKING WELL MY ASS! IF I COULD I'D FUCKING RAM HILDA DOWN YOUR FUCKING ASS!" Molly roared in agony.

"My God she's a complete savage, you've done more than enough for us to prove that already" this time it seemed like an older woman was speaking directly to the cult leader as he turned to face her, draped in the skin suit of a younger woman, before she continued, turning to the older man once again.

"... Boyd you already know this group is as savage as can be. Why is it that you and loads of others need to do this? Watch them constantly all day and night in this weather? We've seen more than enough..."

"No, we have to see them fail. Our leader needs to prove himself and I'm sure he will!" the cultist Boyd responded.

"Their all as dead as can be already! We've have no reason to continue this nonsense, we should go in there and gun them all down now, I'm sure we could all sleep at night if we did that!" another woman snapped, making her voice known.

"Yeah, but then we'd be as savage as these people! We have to prove ourselves that were better than them!" Another cultist woman argued back.

"By what?" The original older woman piped up, before continuing "We gave that girl a truck, her old friends, head starts and yet they still die. Besides we have been slowly killing them anyway..."

"There's a large difference Joyce, between handing that one woman syringes and flat out shooting them! It gives them a choice and that damn group always chooses what's wrong! Our leader wants to prove to all of us that this cult is the way forward!" Boyd ranted to the older woman (Joyce) who merely scoffed and held herself as upright as she could.

"So that's what your all about?" Sarah asked of the cultists themselves, something about their names trigged a memory for her, a memory she couldn't remember but she was sure somebody in their group had mentioned them beforehand.

"It doesn't make any difference if you know or not. Not anymore, you'll still continue to beat and murder each other. It's human nature and when you're done with each other, you'll kill and murder us..."

"Look at you! Fucking standing there thinking your mother fucking mother Teresa! YOU'RE THE ONE'S FUCKING WEARING PETE AND ALVIN AND WALTER, YOU SKINNED MEMBERS OF OUR GROUP! AND STIRRED UP SO MUCH SHIT BETWEEN US! YOU'RE FUCKING INSANE! ALL OF Y'ALL!" Luke exploded his rage bursting to the surface, as a vein in his forehead throbbed considerably, the stranger's lips curled upwards into a small smile.

"So you finally accept that. Well you see now why I did such a thing, to remind you of your past failures..."

"TO MESS WITH OUR HEADS MORE LIKE!" Clementine screamed.

"There's so aggressive I remember Vernon telling us about what a sweet girl she once was, look at what these people have turned her into" the cultist Joyce told the others. Clementine gasped as she remembered Vernon's name, the old man with cancer back in Savannah, sure enough Molly recognised it too.

"Oh shit, you people were with that damn fossil! According to Clem you were the people that stole that boat!" Molly shouted this up at them, the trio of them seemed to stand particularly close to the stranger. Joyce, Boyd and another silent man who Clementine thought must have been "Clive" according to Stephanie's tales.

"How are you three still alive, Stephanie told us all you died!" Sarah asked of them.

"Stephanie's a god damn liar and a good for nothing thief! She deserves every bit of hell she gets!" Joyce shouted angrily, her eyes widened in a sort of insanity as Boyd sighed and Clive remained silent. The Cancer survivors were here, the stranger was here... all from Savannah.

"How... how did you survive!? I shot you! You can't have got a second chance! Otherwise you wouldn't be here!" Clementine yelled the obvious at the stranger who merely grinned and stated clearly "Ah... this business of being sent back in time and receiving that second chance. Yes Clementine it's happened to my twice now, but you were the one to give me my first second chance".

Clementine blinked as the stranger began to pace slowly around a nearby tree, his eyes lost in the bare canopy above him, the first rays of the morning sunshine were stretching over the horizon, the sky was a sickly pink as mist emerged from everyone's mouths and noses. A slow and steady breeze chilled exposed areas of skin. and in this silence the group remained the snow starting to sparkle somewhat due to the sun shining on the frozen water.

"I... I didn't give you anything" Clementine finally snapped, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

The stranger's eyes flashed, before he titled his head slightly inspecting Clementine.

"Don't lie to me Clementine, don't lie to yourself,you've been lying all this time. Convincing yourself you killed me, convincing yourself that bullet you shot me with was fatal. You hit me in shoulder and you knew it, I played dead so you probably assumed I died, as did that monster Lee Everett..."

"Don't-say-anything-about-Lee" Clementine growled, nearly at her breaking point.

"You should have checked on me again, or got Lee too. I was waiting for that animal of a man to stand over me again and deliver the finishing blow, so I could finally prove how much of a monster he truly was. But no, he was too busy looking after you, he also assumed the shot was fatal as I was about to kill him, that dumb shit was too focused on saving you..."

"SHUT UP!" Clementine screeched like a banshee, darting forwards to deliver any sort of blow she could to the stranger. However the butt of a rifle caught in the face and she landed face first in the snow, coughing the snow out of her mouth, she glared up at the cult leader, her face stinging slightly she could see one of the cancer survivors (Clive) had been the one to strike her down.

"You however Clementine..." the stranger continued as if nothing had happened "You... you could have told him, you only shot me in the shoulder. You cried and sobbed and pretended it was over, you deliberately spared me and you knew it. You were my second chance Clementine..."

"NO! I... I thought you were dead anyway!" Clementine admitted, her voice hoarse as Sarah gawked openly at her and muttered "But Clem, I thought... I thought you said you killed him. You said it needed to be done... you..."

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD! I JUST WANTED LEE BACK!" Clementine roared, losing her cool as she began to sob into snow. It was all her fault this was happening, ever since she left that room she had a nagging feeling she could have just ran back and placed a bullet in the stranger's head. But she was 8 she was sure a shot to the shoulder was fatal, besides he wasn't moving. He had to be dead, Lee's arm was cut off and she thought he was hurt, she just wanted to get somewhere safe with him.

"You didn't kill me because that tiny part of you still had mercy Clementine. That part of you Lee had not destroyed was still a sweet, innocent little girl, you had humanity Clementine. As I lay there bleeding out, hurt but not dead. I promised myself that even if I did die of blood loss, God watch over that little girl. I prayed that Lee would die so you'd be free of him. I prayed that if anything ever went bad for you that... that you'd be given a second chance to make things right". he paused there grinning at Clementine as she gazed at him, too shocked to speak.

"and then I passed out, but then I woke up again, the blood loss was bad but it didn't kill me. You spared me Clementine. I woke up and you gave me my second chance. I prayed you could receive the same second chance one day and that's when I got up and made it my mission to find you once again. To do something good, when I found Lee. Dead as he was, I celebrated... my prayers had been answered" his face was smug as he said this, Clementine hands curled into fists as she prepared to scream whatever the hell she could at this man she loathed with all of her heart.

"Shut up! Just shut the fuck up, shut the fuck up now" Luke snarled dangerously at him.

"... I escaped Savannah, following a certain group who managed to steal a boat. It was a selfish thing of them to do, and Vernon I believe died because he couldn't let go of the boat. I followed the remaining three survivors until they reached a pitstop..."

"Gill's pit-stop, right where Shel, Stephanie, Becca and Roman were" Sarah mused, she had a good memory for remembering these kind of things.

"I thought following them would eventually lead me back to you Clementine, instead of finding you however, I found a group of people who ran around in walker skins. They were a cult who prided themselves on living like the dead and shooting those who refused their beliefs. I was wary at first, but then they showed me what life was like... and I agreed. Slowly we watched the pit-stop group before us crumble, they would all eventually crumble. To prove it we sent in one of the men from our group to steal things and get caught on purpose, it was a risk he was willing to take to show how savage group's could become, to show us all that the dead way was the right way" the stranger took a breather there, before ploughing on with his tale.

"and I was right, he played the helpless foreigner so well, they should have had mercy on him and let him go. But no they went and shot him..."

"Their group had been broken into before! They were wary! They had ever right to shoot someone who tried to steal from them!" Sarah shouted, (again she was good at listening and remembering Stephanie's tales) as the stranger merely laughed and pointed at Bonnie's corpse "May I also remind you, it was her and Leland and Dee who stole from pitstop group in the first place. It was their fault that the group were wary, they committed an evil deed. We simply gave the pit-stop crew a choice and they chose the most savage one..."

"You think you're so fucking innocent don't you!?" Molly snapped cutting him mid-sentence as the stranger sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Molly rest assured if I, or anyone else here doesn't kill you. The Group you are with will come round to it in a very short space of time" he warned her, a disinterested Molly merely grunted. While still keeping a tight grip on her bleeding knee.

"It was the pit-stop group shooting that man that things went downhill, you're too blame for this!" Sarah argued.

"Oh no, were not. Because soon afterwards a certain young woman grows anxious and tries to leave while stealing supplies. This woman gets caught but this time they choose what is right, as her friend with some humanity drives away from the pit stop. Unable to kill her friend, due to the other's persuasion this said woman is spared. But soon the group have to leave and we continued to follow them. Watching them seeing if people really could fall, seeing if they could hold out and stick together but no... they couldn't."

He smiled as Joyce cut in with a shrill "SHE AND ROMAN LEFT US! LEFT US TO DIE THE MIDDLE OF THE WOODS WHEN THINGS GOT TOUGH! WHEN WE WERE NEARLY OUT OF FOOD! I BET SHE NEVER TOLD YOU FOLKS THAT! SHE'S A DIRTY GOOD FOR NOTHING LIAR! AND THAT ROMAN WAS A KILLING MACHINE! IF OUR LEADER HADN'T FOUND US...!" Joyce finished there, shaking her head sadly as the stranger picked up her tale.

"I offered the trio, the food, support and shelter Roman and Stephanie had denied them. They were outraged, heartbroken at such a betrayal, after keeping Stephanie alive and keeping Roman sane, this is how they were repaid? It was outrage I promised them we'd follow the pair make them pay, or watch them turn on each other eventually. While we trailed them I helped more people, more people who had been left to die. More people who had been betrayed by their group, those with humanity and compassion I recruited them all and..."

"That's how you built up the cult, you let these people join and then offered bandits ridiculous offers, knowing they'd refuse so you could gun them down. You're all just a pack of murdering assholes!" was Luke's verdict.

"You ever been shat on boy!? Shat on by people who you thought you could trust!?" the silent man (Clive) finally grumbled angrily.

"We had every right to clear the earth of those people, the scum of humanity have to be eradicated if were going to live in a peaceful new world!" Joyce snapped.

"Yeah, good luck living to see it grandma" Molly commented.

Joyce looking as if she wanted to rip Molly apart on the spot, yet she retained her anger, never the less her lips remained in a thin straight line as she openly glowered at a bored looking Molly, who was trying to play it tough (although her wound still hurt like hell).

"Besides, we offered them a choice. Proving we are better people then those bandits and scum who walk over us" The stranger snarled.

"No, you offer_ the illusion of choice,_ a choice that makes no difference, it's more cruel than directly killing someone. You offer that choice only to make yourselves feel better about yourselves, you're refusing to accept you've become as bad as the bandits you kill!" Clementine preached as the cultists merely glanced at her as if she were mad, the stranger muttered "See how far you've fallen Clem, this makes me so sad..." he coughed before carrying on with his tale.

"So yes, I let Clive, Joyce and Boyd continue to follow Stephanie and Roman, they were one of the first group of people to join the cult. I was recruiting so I quickly became leader, this trio hold a special space in my heart. I allowed them to get their revenge, they expected Roman and Stephanie to kill each other, but instead the pair came across Howe's Hardware. A new group was being formed there while my cult was at work ridding the bandits in the woods, the others got revenge on Roman when he went out on a scouting mission one day. But also... they're was someone else..."

The stranger smirked.

"I saw her, that tall woman who was with you sprinting off down the river after we shot Roman and the bandits, I knew the second I saw her you had to be close by. I knew it and I found you Clementine... my God. You had changed for the worst, instantly it's just how I feared but I let you roam free. I wanted that new group you were surrounded by to slowly go to ruin, so when I reintroduced myself to you, I'd be your saviour. I watched Howe's fall, I watched your group break apart until you were the only one left..."

He sighed.

"Then I lost track of you in a snowstorm, I tried to find you but it was already too late, I tried to run too you but you'd already had your intestines ripped out. Before you heard me or saw me you shot yourself..."

He paused dramatically.

"and like that, I blinked and I was back. Back when I was observing you by Howe's, I didn't know what had happened but I soon figured it out, you acting differently, events changing. You had your second chance Clem, I watched in disbelief as you overcome major obstacles you proved me wrong, you made my cult doubt itself with their mass shootings. I assured myself you'd all die during the rebellion, but you didn't. I could observe as you grew closer to those murderous bastards that made up your new friends. I even led the woman who was with you before, Lilly back too you. As a way of supporting you and bringing more conflict due to the bandit group she was in. But my last ditch attempt failed..." he sighed there, glaring at Clementine now.

"Ha ha" Clementine laughed dryly.

"I even brought Christa back too you and the russian group for the same reason. To prove I was good to you, but also to prove that humans couldn't live together they'd eventually break and finally you started to break. Even with a second chance, I managed to prove it to my cult by telling them what they would do, what they would say before they even said it. Some still doubt my ability but I assured of it" The stranger's statement was met with another silence before he exhaled and smiled again.

"You left Howe's in the end and I watched your group go to ruin completely, until you all died. Until Luke murdered you in the end Clementine, that's why I killed him".

"YOU FUCKING LIAR!" Luke roared as the stranger merely laughed and looked down at Luke in disgust "You are a monster Luke, a monster that only thinks with your dick rather than your head. It was no surprise that I found you raping Clementine's corpse at the end of last time I was alive" the stranger mused as Clementine felt her blood boil.

"THAT'S A LIE! YOU FORCED LUKE TO DO IT! YOU'RE A LIAR YOU CAN'T BELIEVE HIM!" Clementine exclaimed desperately turning to the other members of the cult, who leered down at her small form, as Boyd shyly muttered "Look here girl... our leader is a good man. He would never do what you accuse him of" Boyd's calm words only made Luke and Clementine enraged even more so than they already were.

"HOW CAN YOU TRUST THIS FUCKING MADMAN!?" Clementine screamed.

"How can you trust the madman you are with Clementine? It's my word against his and I am an honest man, Luke tried to be honest, he tried to tell you all of what happened during his pre-life I imagine. But he left out that little detail at the end, he pretended it was me and my cult who forced him to do it. His been lying to you all this time Clementine..."

"NO! LUKE WOULD NEVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT!" Clementine shouted in southern man's defence.

"He would Clementine, do you know why you were given that second chance? One can only speculate but in those moments when I thought I was dying, I loved you. More than I ever loved anyone else in this rotten world. You were given a second chance and then you latched yourself onto the person you loved the most, the person who you swore to protect, and then look who got a second chance" his eyes flew to Luke's burly form. The brown haired man glared back at him as he snarled "And if that rule applies, the person who'll get the next second chance is Clem" he said clearly as the stranger nodded.

"You see Clementine, I think it's only fair since I believe I gave you the second chance that we both share it. Me and you, if one of us dies or watches the other die we can go back in time and change all that. I know you're not too far gone Clementine you can still be saved, I want to prove to you that the group you're with are monsters and that I'm the good guy here, I'll be your saviour, you'll love me, Luke will eventually die and pass on his second chance to you no doubt, because he loves you. But not in the way you think..."

"You... you don't actually want to kiss Clementine, do you?" Sarah asked of Luke uncertainty, as Luke eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"WHAT!? NO! FUCKING HELL NO!" he rounded on the stranger at this point "FUCKING STOP IT! STOP PLAYIN' MIND GAMES! LEAVE OUR GROUP ALONE! CLEM'S FAMILY! HOW FUCKING DARE ME OF HAVING SOME SORT OF FUCKING LOLITA COMPLEX!" Luke bellowed, as Sarah curiously asked "What's a Lolita complex?"

"You don't want to know Sarah, besides I think we all know who really has the Lolita complex here" Molly snapped pointing openly at the stranger who merely chuckled and turned to her "You really believe Luke's words over my own? You know he feels something more for Clementine, something inappropriate, all these dead lovers, Jane, Bonnie hell he even got off with Kelly at one point. He'll get busy with anything with a pulse..."

"If you say one more word..." Luke snapped.

"Or what Luke? You kill me? Show us the monster you really are? I am going to prove to Clementine that you are a worthless excuse of a human being, you even admitted to them you raped her. Even if it was forced like you say, you still had a choice... and you chose..."

"JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Luke roared for the about tenth time that day, as the stranger merely glanced at the four captives in front of him.

"Clementine you lied to yourself about me, you've lied to the others. Stephanie's been lying to you, she left three elderly people to die and she never told you and Luke can you really trust him Clementine? You know what's his capable of, you saw what he did to William Carver, he never told you about his second chance? How do you know that he won't do anything to you?" the stranger's questions weighed on Clementine's mind, as she met Luke's red rimmed eyes as she had to ask herself. Did she trust Luke?

"I trust him" these three words were certain, there was no way in hell Luke would do that to her. No way. She refused to believe it, she may have refused to believe she had spared the stranger and because of that this whole cult was here. Her having a tiny shred of humanity had led to all of this death and destruction. If only she had the guts to do what was right... if only... the guilt was already eating up at her. It was her fault the cult had been formed, Stephanie's fault they found Howe's and how the stranger was able to observe the group once again, and Luke...

"Tell me why _you_ made me rape her? Tell me! TELL ME THE GOD-DAMN TRUTH!" Luke spat.

"Ah, you see I was sent back after I killed you Luke, after I saw you crouched over Clem's..."

"BULLSHIT! I BET YOU JUST GOT IMPULSIVE AND MURDERED US IN THE MOST SADISTIC WAY POSSIBLE! LIKE WHEN YOU JUST SHOT MOLLY! YOU COULDN'T STAND THE THOUGHT OF ME AND CLEM SURVIVING ALONE TOGETHER SO YOU INTERVENED, WHEN YOU REALISED I HAD THE SECOND CHANCE BECAUSE YOU WERE SENT BACK AS WELL THAT'S WHEN YOU PUT THIS THEORY ABOUT HOW YOU GOT THE SECOND CHANCE INTO PRACTICE! YOU STILL THINK YOU CAN SAVE CLEM FROM ME... BUT YOU AIN'T HER FATHER! YOU... IT'S YOU THAT DO THINGS TO HER! A LITTLE GIRL! YOU FUCKING SADISTIC SHIT! YOU CAN CALL ME A FUCKING LIAR ALL YOU WANT BUT I KNOW THAT'S WHAT I SAW!" Luke tirade finished there, he was panting heavily as the stranger simply sighed.

"As you can all see, insane. Gets too defensive when asked about it, a clear sign of guilt" The stranger told his cultists who nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, second chance shit aside. What do you want? I've gathered judging by that syringe and bits of information I've overheard that you were supplying Bonnie drugs that she got addicted too. She came out here with Luke knowing she'd put him in danger but wanting one last bit of pleasure with him, when she refused to pick those drugs up and stir up more trouble in the group you had no further use of her. You only killed her to show how insane Luke could go" Molly's theory was bang on correct as the stranger nodded, "She also knew she was doing wrong, but didn't tell you. Now look what she's caused..." he sighed sadly as Luke's eyes shined dangerously.

"So, you gonna kill us? Drag us off back to your little camp and have us join your little friends? Or... are you going to let us go, as long as Luke sneaks back to the truck and hands you the kids. If not, if they drive away you'll kill me, Sarah and Clementine, that's it isn't it?" Molly asked, as the stranger nodded.

"See, when you don't insult people, you are very smart Molly. Leading you to the group was a good move your a good asset to them. But alas you won't save them, nothing will. Anyway Luke..." the stranger turned to him "We want those innocent children out of your group, fetch them. Give them to us and then drive off. Regardless of conflict we'll let you go. But we'll still follow we know you won't make it. Clementine darling, you'll see what kind of monster he really is soon..."

"I've already seen enough fucking monsters today" Clementine retorted coldly, glancing at one cult member to the next.

"Hmm... you'll see I'm right. Now Luke go and fetch those kids for me Luke, or Molly here dies, then I move onto Sarah and then I'll take Clementine with me, you know what to do, bring me Alvin Junior and Lilly. Allow me to teach the children, allow me to teach them the ways of the next, better generation, allow me too...!"

"...Fucking die a hole thank you very much. Getting the kids my ass"

Rebecca had spoken, the stranger whipped around too late as Rebecca, Stephanie and Nick burst onto the scene. Guns blazing (Clementine guessed Eddie was back in the truck watching the kids) as the first shot fired out and a cultist near to Clementine dropped dead.

Shit hit the fan, as the gunfight began.


	46. Blood On My Name

**A/N: Okay, lots of theories and all praise coming in (a special thanks to Kristal-Dynamite for the brilliant cover for No Going Back?) and yep the whole praying to ZombieGod thing was a bit of humour of my part (the cult worship me!) and Clem's screaming about the illusion of choice thing was a reference to the choices in the game.**

**and now quite simply you're all theorising and wondering what's going to come next, so on we go!**

* * *

The pitter patter of bullets against bark was evident as members of the cult and Clementine's group all dived behind the thin trees in that small forest, to give them any sort of cover from the fray that had erupted within seconds. Luke yelped as he saw Bonnie's corpse get torn to shreds by stray bullets, Molly herself tried to get to her shaky feet before another well aimed bullet from Joyce sent her sprawling to the floor once again.

"Oh fuck...!" she panted in panic, gazing at her second bleeding kneecap. It was official now she couldn't walk on these, she was screwed. She saw her life flash before her eyes as she gazed into Joyce's eyes behind her skin-suit. The elderly woman preparing to fire the bullet that would kill her...

BANG

A spray of wooden splinters exploded by Joyce's head, as the elderly woman whimpered in fear and covered her head with her hands as she ducked back behind the tree she was leant against. Molly wasted no time as she desperately crawled through the soggy snow, dragging herself through the white slush the pops of gunfire propelling her to move faster. She didn't even know who had saved her and shot at Joyce. But soon a bellow of "MOVE!" from Luke confirmed to her that the broken southern man had saved her life. She reminded herself that she'd have to repay him if she got out of this mess.

As Molly dragged herself as far away from the gunfight as she could (managing to pick up Hilda while she was at it) Joyce herself turned to her new target as her eyes blazed in rage.

"You!" she breathed in distaste.

Stephanie's eyes met her own, Stephanie only had time to utter a very quick "Shit" before she dived behind her tree in the nick of time as a bullet whizzed past her head taking a few strands of her black hairs with it.

"Fuckin' hell Stef! Keep your head down!" Nick snapped at her.

Stephanie sighed as Nick open fired at her old friends as she trembled and tried to calm her shaking hands. The truth was out, it was all out in the open now. The trio of them had been watching that damn stranger for a while, waiting for the right moment to strike. But as the truth came out and Stephanie recognised those cancer survivors as she gasped in disbelief as Nick openly hissed at her "I thought you said they died?" in which Stephanie couldn't reply too. Upon hearing of their survival and the fact she and Roman had left them behind to die, Rebecca and Nick glowered at Stephanie.

"You... you left them to die? Is that true Stef?" Rebecca demanded the answer from her.

She couldn't speak, she only nodded her body going numb and her stomach in knots.

"Why! You fuckin' led them too us in the fucking first place! Fucking hell Stef, you...!" Nick was hissing so loudly at her it was a surprise that no one overheard them. A dark glint was in Nick's blue eyes as the hot headed man shook Stephanie by the shoulders and growled at her "You left three old people to die! What the actual fuck is wrong with you!?" Stephanie didn't reply, she was too stunned to cry but she was relieved when Rebecca firmly told Nick to "Stop" what he was doing. In which he did, but that didn't stop him from angrily muttering too himself or shooting Stephanie daggers every so often.

_"Stef, look I know they've done good for you. But they're slowing us down!" Roman gazed sadly at Clive, Joyce and Boyd's sleeping forms, from where they were curled up in the grass._

_"We can't just leave them like this! They'll die!" Stephanie argued back, there was no way in hell she was leaving them behind. Especially not Boyd who had encouraged Roman to let her live after Shel had left. Who was she to return the favour by leaving him to die now? _

_"I know it's hard Stef, but we only have a cracker left between us and an apple. That's it. Chances are even if we do spilt up we are gonna die, Boyd would want you to do this. Listen here" Roman took her by the shoulders as he stressed his point "They were cancer survivors, but they're old Stef, they are slowing us down. We've already had too many close calls, we've protected them as best we can". _

_"Why don't we wake them up and see what Boyd wants then? Were a group Roman, we stick together till the end!" Stephanie spoke passionately as Roman smiled and her and stroked her cheek muttering "So young, so full of life Stef I don't want to see you go to waste and neither do they. There's a high chance we'll die no matter what. We have got to try I know you don't want to be here, I know you want to live. You wouldn't have stolen those supplies if you didn't want to live..." _

_Stephanie snarled and slapped his hand away as she gazed the trio in front of her, what Roman said it was all true and he knew it. Stephanie's upper lip trembled as she whimpered "I... but it's wrong Roman. I owe them my life, I owe Boyd my life and this is how I repay them? I just want to do something good for once..." she began to sob as Roman offered her a shoulder to cry as he tried to shush her._

_"Stef... I know it's hard, the decision with that guy back at the pit-stop and then you... I act like I don't care. But you need to know Stef how fucking hard it really is" his voice began to break, as he sadly mumbled at her "Don't let me go through this alone Stef, not again. I need to know you're with me and I promise you..." his voice brightened up slightly as he gazed at her "If we do live, we'll remember them. We'll find somewhere safe, a... a safe haven, full of good people"_

_Stephanie sniffed and wiped away her tears._

_"Promise?" she asked of Roman._

_"Promise" he replied._

So from that day on Joyce, Clive and Boyd were dead too her, she felt awful about it but she always assumed they had died, they had died an honourable death, her and Roman managed to move on at a faster pace, find supplies, outrun walkers. Until they finally reached Howe's battered, bruised but alive and it was because of the hard choice her and Roman had made that they had reached this paradise. His promise was true, Shel and Becca were back with a whole host of good people and the cancer survivors had died to save them...

Now that reality was twisted, she was a bad guy, she had done a bad thing. Roman, Shel and Becca had left her to face this alone, the cancer survivors had not died honourably but had become enemies to her. She was the one who had caused all this, she crashed the truck, she (unintentionally but she still did) led the cult to Howe's in the first place.

"FUCK!" Nick roared as his gun clicked, he was out of bullets and an enthusiastic Clive knew that as he charged forwards, no one could shoot him in time, in a few seconds he would kill Nick.

Stephanie knew what she had to do then, something she should have done a long time ago.

She leapt out from behind the tree and placed her pistol to Clive's flaky head, she didn't look at his face as he paused in this tracks, but before he could fire another single shot, Stephanie's finger squeezed on the trigger their was a resounding POP as Stephanie felt a torrent of hot blood splash on her clothes and face, through her bloodied vision she saw Boyd. Standing there limply, a look of shock and hurt written all over his elderly face as Stephanie gulped and swallowed down whatever sort of guilt she felt.

"NO!" Joyce roared, a single sharp pain in Stephanie's hip told her she'd been shot, as she slumped violently to her right, she heard a heartbroken Nick scream her name. Holding a single hand to her wound she stumbled away from it all, running away. Finally getting away.

"I'm sorry Nick!" she called over to his stunned form, he was slumped against the tree he was leaning on, his gun lay across his lap. He couldn't move it had all happened so fast. The white hot panic of him running out of bullets, Stephanie saving him out of nowhere, her being shot and now she was running away with a few cultists in pursuit. He was going to follow her until a shrill scream from Sarah made him bolt upwards in horror...

* * *

Stephanie stumbled onwards, the blood from her wound leaving a trail in the snow making it easy for her two people following her too keep track of her and too keep up with her. This is what she wanted, she didn't want Nick, Sarah or anyone being involved in this showdown. This was her mistake, she was going to fix it.

Eventually she stumbled out onto an open plain of snow and tried to crawl forward, but there was no tree to duck behind now as Joyce's shrill scream of "STOP RIGHT THERE!" made the younger woman pause in her tracks and turn to face a furious looking Joyce and a sorrowful looking Boyd.

"Drop the gun!" Joyce hissed at her, Stephanie sighed and obeyed her order. Other than the woods behind them, there was nothing and nobody else in sight. Just an endless horizon of rolling white hills, their was no escape from this. No where for Stephanie to run now.

"Now listen here Missy! You know what you've done! From day one you've messed with us! Stealing supplies! Leaving us to die! How low can you go... well today...!" Joyce brandished her gun dangerously as she smirked down at the younger woman "The people you thought were so helpless! The people you thought would die, get their payback..."

"Joyce please!" Boyd begged of her, Stephanie sighed to herself, why was Boyd so nice? Even now?

"Boyd! Don't tell me you want to spare her! Not after all she's done! After all she's put us through!" Joyce screamed at him.

"I... were not like this! We don't need these gunfights and God knows what else, Stephanie..." Boyd was appealing directly to the younger woman now, as their eyes locked "It can all be forgiven. All you have to do is join us. Our leader always says we have a choice..."

"SHE MURDERED CLIVE! SHE'S A MONSTER BOYD!" Joyce roared, as Boyd looked at his elderly ally and shook his head sadly "No she isn't, she's just a scared girl Joyce, you're wrong..."

"No Boyd. Just stop it. She's right" Stephanie muttered, loud enough so both Joyce and Boyd could hear her. While Joyce looked triumphant at proving her point, poor Boyd looked crestfallen as he gasped "No, Stef... you protected us... you..."

"Did loads of bad stuff. That's what you're little group wants right? To prove us all as monsters, to prove us inhuman? Well here I am, admitting it. I'm a monster Boyd I had no regrets about killing Clive, stealing supplies, or fucking my group over. I was very good at crying and pretending I had remorse for them, but deep down I keep on doing horrible things. I guess that means I am just an evil person and I might as well just accept that now..."

"You... you're alive because we showed you mercy!" Boyd yelled, getting slightly angry now as Stephanie laughed sinisterly.

"Then you shouldn't have showed me mercy, you made a mistake" Stephanie responded her voice as cold as the snow that soaking through her layers of clothing, Boyd was speechless as Joyce looked gleeful, she was ready to fire a bullet into the evil woman's head. But before she could Stephanie smiled at her and goaded her with "Go on Joyce, do it. I'm evil, I need to be eradicated" in which Joyce's finger trembled slightly.

"I'm evil, but at least I'm honest. To me that's a lesser evil than what you two are" she spat.

"HOW WE ARE EVIL STEF! WE DO WHAT IS RIGHT IN OUR GROUP...!" Boyd yelled, finally losing his temper, it was cruel of her and Stephanie knew she was the worst kind of bitch to make innocent, frail old Boyd into this state. But he had to face the facts...

"How are you evil? You joined that cult, you watched me and Roman struggle! You watched us for fucking weeks, you must have seen how I cried at night because of the hard choice we made leaving you behind! But rather than end it quickly by shooting us, or even just let me know that you were alive. You simply watched, convincing yourself I was evil! WHEN YOU WERE RIGHT FUCKING THERE THE WHOLE TIME!" Stephanie's explosion of words caused Boyd to flinch as he muttered "We needed to prove..."

"You needed a villain, you tried to play saint. That's what you all do in the cult sit by and watch and you don't fucking do a thing! We are evil! I'M FUCKING EVIL ALRIGHT! IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR!? BUT TOO ME I'D RATHER BECOME EVIL THAN SIMPLY SIT BY AND DO NOTHING AND WATCH SOMEONE GO TO RUIN! I NEEDED SOMEONE TO SUPPORT ME! YOU WERE FEET AWAY BUT YOU NEVER CAME! YOU THINK I'M THE BAD GUY!? WHAT'S WORSE THAN SIMPLY DOING NOTHING! NOT BEING THERE FOR SOMEONE THROUGH ALL THE HARD CHOICES THEY HAD TO MAKE!" Stephanie finished her rant there, remembering Roman's words. Everyone needed someone to support them, Roman needed her and she was there.

Nick needed her and she was there.

She needed her old friends back, they were alive but they weren't there. That was their crime.

"You can't compare not being supportive to all the things you've done!" Joyce spat after a lengthy silence in which a strong breeze passed by.

"Oh no I can. You have abandoned your humanity, you're cowards. You hid under your skin-suits so I wouldn't recognise you at first, you didn't try to do something nice, you just tried creating evil, so you'd be the good guys. and boy you succeed with me and the others by creating something evil, but it takes a very nasty, inhumane person to create evil rather than embody it". Stephanie's harsh words seemingly had no effect on either Joyce or Boyd, yet she had a few last words to say.

"I can't run away anymore. I tried, because I knew I'd eventually end up like this, but now here I am. Accepting who I am, If only you could do the same"

Joyce made a disinterested grumble as her finger squeezed down on the trigger...

* * *

Clementine frozen in place, noticing that no one the bullets from the cult seemed to be aimed directly at her, yet she fired back. Aiming directly for the stranger this time she would make sure that she hit him in the head. She made a mistake last time, she would not make that mistake once again...

She was so concentrated on the cultists that she didn't notice what was sneaking up behind her, Rebecca and Luke managed to take out the most foolhardy Cultists who tried firing at them. With each cultist that fell Clementine would notice the stranger shake his head sadly and mutter "animals" under his breath this only enraged her further.

"You're the fucking monster" she thought to herself, as she tried to endlessly shoot at the tree he was hidden behind. She understood now why Luke had wanted Vince out on the lake, it was impossible to shoot someone clearly here and who knows what could have snuck up on you here...

She heard the walker snarl from behind her just in time. She jumped right into no man's land to avoid it's grasping hands as she cursed and realised the sounds of the gunfight must have drawn them all here. The walker behind her moved at a sluggish pace, frozen slightly it's limbs moving robotically, it was the first walker Clementine had seen since seeing the same one that ended her life beforehand, but it wasn't the only one. A scream from Sarah made her pause in her tracks.

The walker collapsed on the shocked teenager, suddenly all the gunfire seemed to have stopped. Everything seemed to have slowed down as Clementine ran towards her friend. But she knew she wouldn't make it in time, she knew not even Nick would make it in time, no matter how fast he sprinted towards Sarah. No matter how long his legs were, Clementine heard flesh crunch as Sarah screamed in agony, Nick's eyes went wide in panic as he hit the scene first dragging the walker (by the shirt) off the trembling teenager, the walker stumbled before falling to the floor.

Nick stomped on the thing's head in a crazy frenzy, littering the bases of nearby trees with dollops of it's blood. The cultists gunfire became momentarily focused on the incoming walkers, giving Rebecca and Luke a chance to break cover and run towards where Sarah lay on the ground, Clementine reached the scene as Nick finished dirtying the soles of his boots with walker brains and decided to help Sarah to her feet.

But as she tried to lift herself up, all three of them saw it. On Sarah's left arm, the arm she had used to shield her neck as the walker lunged at it.

Was a bite mark.

"no... no... no..." Nick muttered, lost in his tone as Sarah gazed at him in a growing panic. She knew what this meant, she shook violently and wailed "N-nick... I... I..."

"It's... It's gonna be okay Sarah! It's gonna be okay! I promise!" He told her, yet the tears that slid down his cheeks confirmed that she certainly would not be alright. Clementine could only stand there, her whole being numb. Her heart thumping in her ears, she was used to losing people, but Sarah? No, no Sarah couldn't die, she was the only other person around Clementine's age alive at the moment. If Sarah died, a piece of her would die too. Yet it was going to happen and Clementine couldn't do anything but stand there.

Noises became distorted, the woods became a blur, she didn't care if the cult behind her blew fifty holes into her right now because she probably would not be able to feel it.

"Oh No... God Luke..." Rebecca sobbed, already knowing the heartbreaking conclusion to this bite.

Luke didn't speak as Rebecca sobbed, he seemed to have gone completely numb.

"It's gonna be okay Sarah! I... Remember we're gonna go to Wellington and were going to a build a snowman together! Me, You, Stef, Clem, Luke...!"

"It's not going to be okay! I'm going to die!" Sarah wailed, phlegm and tears raining down her face as she shook wildly.

"NO YOU WON'T!" Nick roared in a maddening denial.

"YES! I'M FUCKING GOING TO DIE NICK! I'M GOING TO DIE! I'M GOING TO TURN INTO WALKER AND... AND I DON'T WANT TO DIE! I DON'T WANT TOO..." She sobbed helplessly as Nick was lost for words, a now vacant look entering his shiny blue orbs as he let Sarah sob on his shoulder. Luke knew what would happen if Nick lost Sarah, he couldn't let that happen. He couldn't lose anyone else, he simply couldn't.

Without any warning what-so ever Luke pushed Nick to the floor with so much force, that Nick felt the wind get knocked out of him as he hit the ground. Using one rough hand Luke pulled on Sarah's arm, before she could grasp what was even happening, she found a machete halfway through her arm.

She didn't register the pain instantly.

Luke lifted his machete and with his strength it cleaved straight through Sarah's arm.

With a dull thump Sarah's limb hit the snow, the large arc of the bite wound still had fresh blood pouring out of it, yet it was now that Sarah gazed at her stump for a few seconds in shock. As blood spurted from her stump of an arm like a hosepipe and that's when the pain hit. Agonising all-consuming pain, it was... it was too much.

Sarah's inhuman screech of agony made Rebecca gasp in shock and horror and stumble backwards quite a distance, while all the cultists heads turned on the scene. Yet they didn't fire there guns at all, seeing Luke hack off Sarah's arm had brought her back to reality with a sickening jolt. Yet the first thing that entered her mind wasn't an instant need to help Sarah. The only thing she could wonder was why it had suddenly gone quiet.

Why wasn't anyone shooting anymore?

"WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE!?" Nick bellowed at Luke, it all occurred too quickly for both men to get their heads around it. Too Nick, Sarah's safety was his top priority all he knew now was that was she defiantly going to bleed out or die of shock and it all thanks to Luke. The rage that engulfed Nick was too great in those seconds as one thought crossed his mind, Luke killed Sarah, Luke killed Sarah, make him pay. Sarah was one of his only links to sanity in this shitty world and now thanks to his stupid friend cutting off her arm for no reason (in those moments, he completely forgot that cutting off a bite wound was the only way to save a bitten person) Luke needed to die.

Luke also had both Nick and Sarah's safety as his top priority, he thought he was being sensible, but he realised his mistake when a well aimed punch from Nick sent him sprawling to the ground. He had acted far too rashly, he just wanted to save Sarah from death and Nick from insanity, he should have said something to Nick first. But maybe Nick would have disagreed with him, the cult could fire at any second and every minute wasted was fatal for Sarah. Those were the few reasons he chopped off her arm almost instantly, yet it was still wrong.

He should have just fled this place, made a run for it. He could have carried Sarah back to the truck and had her treated properly there, Nick could probably have held the cult off them, or Rebecca or Clementine. But Nick was out of ammunition and... it was all so complex! Luke couldn't think straight and neither could Nick. Nick was already lost in instant insanity, assuming Sarah was dead.

"YOU KILLED HER! YOU FUCKING KILLED HER! FUCK YOU!" Nick spat, veins popping out his neck, as he tugged Luke's machete from him and raised it above his head, with a demented look in his eye, as he brought the machete down, as Luke covered his head with arms and bellowed "NO!" this was the last thing Sarah saw before she crumpled in the snow. Her world going black.

"STOOOOOOP!" Clementine screeched at the last second, the desperation in her tone must have hit home with Nick. Because the machete in his hands was inches away from Luke's head before he suddenly froze in his tracks. He glanced over at Clementine, his face a mess of tears. Clementine sadly pointed behind her at where the cult leader and a dozen others were emerging from the trees, the cult leader or the stranger as he also liked to be known as, Was clapping slowly, the sounds of his hands slapping together being the only sounds now in the silent forest.

"Congratulations Nick, you've become a full on monster of a man. Killing your friend, look at yourself, your are pathetic. If I were you Nick..." the stranger didn't even seem to flinch as he went right up to where a numb Nick stood over Luke, and he whispered into the hot-headed man's ears...

"I'd-kill-yourself. Sarah's dead. You have nothing left to live for"

He leaned back towards where his groups guns were trained on Luke's frozen group, Nick dropped Luke's machete in the snow as Luke gulped and finally managed to break the ice "Nick... I know you flipped out man, whatever he just said too you. Ignore it! His playing mind games with us man! Please don't..." yet Luke's pleading was helpless. All Nick had to do was take one look at Sarah's unmoving form in the snow and the expanding puddle of blood around her form. For him to finally break,

"I'm sorry Luke! I... You can't be around me anymore! It's for your own safety! You... you're still my best friend. Goodbye Luke."

and with those words Nick was gone, wailing into the woods like a madman, running so fast he tore past the cult before anyone could shoot him, one cultists openly asked "Do you want us to go after him and...?"

"No, His already dead" The stranger replied coldly, as Luke and Clementine glowered at him. Rebecca was still quite a distance away, the gunfight was lost and the cultists had won, she was close to fleeing.

"It's over Luke. You and Rebecca killed so many of my fellow cultists so many of my friends, I think everyone here deserves a bit of vengeance" one of the cult members laughed, waving his gun over his head.

"If you hurt Luke..." Clementine warned as the stranger merely tutted at her.

"Clementine you just saw him. His a monster, he shoots without mercy. He cut off Sarah's arm with no logical thought..."

"THAT'S BECAUSE YOU DREW THE WALKERS HERE! YOU FIRED AT US!"

"Actually it was Rebecca who started the gunfight..."

"Because you wanted the kids! and that's fucking out of order!" Rebecca exclaimed at the stranger who didn't even react to her accusation.

"If you kill Luke, I'll never love you, then you'll never get your second chance thing with me, I'll kill myself if I have too and go back and make it right" Clementine said boldly as the stranger merely laughed "The second chance Clem, who said it had a pattern. Me? I only made a theory, I can get you too love me in the end and personally what if this isn't what it seems?" the stranger left Clementine hanging there as she openly asked "What?"

"What if I really did die back in Savannah, what if you really died in that snowstorm? There never was a second chance, this is our purgatory, our limbo. We have to overcome obstacles, clear our sins to create the heaven we couldn't find in life. Maybe that's the reasoning of the second chance and all I know is that Luke is a devil that cannot be in my heaven, sometimes you have to accept demons to be an angel, but then you need to know when to get rid of the demons and now is that time" he clicked his fingers together as the cultists moved forward.

"Kill Luke and Rebecca, take Clementine and Sarah back to camp along with the children" he instructed of his unstoppable cult, Clementine tried to run forward, but it was helpless. She dropped her gun in the snow after she saw Sarah get bitten, so she had no firearm on her to defend herself. She felt a flaky hand clamp over her mouth as she instantly felt herself get dragged backwards by an unseen powerful man.

"UUUKKEEE..." She tried to yell to him, but her voice was muffled, she caught a quick glimpse of him, before he heard him yell "I'M COMING BACK FOR YOU CLEM! I'LL COME AND GET YOU! JUST HANG IN THERE!" and then he was gone. She was surrounded by the dark silhouettes on all sides as someone dragging her further backwards she fought with every bone in her body, but the man holding her was simply too strong. She felt a delicate hand wipe something on her face that she realised was warm, sticky blood.

_"You're one of us now"_ a female voice above her muttered.

* * *

Luke watched helplessly as Clementine and Sarah's limp form were carried into the mass sea of cultists, there was no way he'd be able to outfight all of these people. He glanced desperately at Rebecca who lifted her gun slowly from behind him.

"REBECCA DON'T!" He bellowed as Rebecca lowered her gun slightly, the cult was closing in.

"GET BACK TO THE TRUCK! TELL EDDIE TO DRIVE THE HELL OUTTA HERE! TELL HIM WERE ALL DEAD! TELL HIM THERE'S NOTHING TO GO BACK FOR! GET THE KIDS TO WELLINGTON AWAY FROM THESE CRAZY FUCKERS! Luke bellowed, as Rebecca looked torn, unsure of what to do.

"Luke..." she gasped.

"GO!" He pleaded of her, his cry must have slapped some sort of sense in Rebecca her lips moved but nothing came out. Before the curly haired mother sprinted off back towards the direction of the truck she had come from, a few of the cultists instantly set off after her.

BANG

BANG

BANG!

Luke had picked up his machete and gun, he fired three shots that took down three of the cultists that were chasing Rebecca, the cult's attention switched back to him as he bellowed "HEY! HEY YOU SAD FUCKS! OVER HERE! KILL ME! THAT'S WHAT HE INSTRUCTED RIGHT! KILL ME! COME ON!" He then sprinted off feeling the ground to his left and too his sides get torn apart by a hailstorm of bullets. The cult were running after him, as Luke felt sweat coat his being as he waded through the snow. He passed Bonnie's torn up corpse one last time, before jumping over a small log and hitting the ground. Hard.

He wheezed in exhaustion, the cult were right on his trail, Nick had fled, Rebecca had fled, Stephanie had vanished, Clementine and Sarah had been taken, Sarah was probably dead by now and even if she lived she had still lost an arm. and he was about to end up as the cult's next summer accessory, Luke felt the hairs on the back of his neck shoot upwards as the cult closed in on him... he gulped as his body tensed. Awaiting the bullets that would rip his body to shreds and how much pain he would be in...

Without any warning what-so-ever he felt something clasp around his foot and drag him backwards, before he could even fight back he found himself falling into a dark space. The cooler air made him shiver more than he already was, the person who had grabbed his ankle and had dragged him here, instantly placed her palm over his mouth and snarled "Don't-make-a-fucking-sound".

Luke wouldn't, even if Molly's hand wasn't planted over his mouth.

He realised then the blonde woman had managed to drag herself into a hiding spot underneath this very thick layer of twisted tree roots, there seemed to be a tiny opening under this tree, it was a tiny, cramped area. Filled to the brim with worms and other insects that had fled here to avoid the snow and winter that would kill them. Yet this area was also the perfect hiding place, Molly's face was inches from his own, she seemed to be gritting her teeth together in pain, droplets of sweat rolled down her cheeks as she remained silent. Luke could hear the footsteps of the cultists right above him.

"Where the fuck did he go!?" he heard someone bellow.

"Good thing I covered my blood trail with the snow" Molly whispered, her teeth chattering somewhat as both adults feared that even breathing would draw the cultists here. All one of them had to do was look under the mess of thick tree roots and spot them huddled in this tiny space and it was all over...

agonising minutes passed, Luke clenched his eyes shut as the cultists roamed around outside. He could hear them inspecting bushes or checking for his footprints in the snow, he realised in a panicked flush his footsteps must have stopped right by the twisted roots of the tree, maybe the force of his body being dragged under the roots had left a clear mark in the snow... he gulped awaiting it, awaiting death.

"Hmmm..." a cultist peered down by the roots. Luke could see his face, he felt Molly's heart-rate accelerate from next to him as they were seconds away from being discovered...

"He must of moved one and covered his footsteps! Come on! We'll find him!" another woman yelled from above, the cultist's head (who was inspecting the roots) vanished, as he went to go look elsewhere. Molly breathed a massive sigh of relief as she turned back to Luke.

"You saved my life, I owe you one. But do not make me do that again" she warned.

* * *

Nick spotted it, in his madness his only thoughts were off Sarah's corpse in the snow but then he actually looked and saw the cultist about to shoot Stephanie... he suddenly realised, there was so much left to lose.

Stephanie awaited her death, a small sinister smile on her face, ready to die the villain she felt that she was. What she wasn't expecting was for Nick to dive out of nowhere bellowing at the top of his lungs, as he crashed into a shocked Joyce, the elderly woman trembled in pain as she fell into the snow. Elderly Boyd gazed at the madman in front of him, who had a small rock in his hand as he began to bash it against Joyce's skull...

"STOP IT! YOU STOP THIS! I DON'T WANT TO SHOOT YOU!" Boyd bellowed at him.

"Yes you do, trust me you really want too" Nick growled at him, he didn't pause in the face of a gun. He wanted to die, he wanted that old fool to end his miserable existence. All he could do now was kill, so like a barbarian he continued to use the stone to crush the skull of an elderly woman as she screamed for mercy, pleading "OH GOD NO! STOOOOOP! OH MY GOD! BOYD! BOYD HELP ME! THERE'S SO MUCH BLOOD! BOYD... PLEASE...!"

The elderly African american man seemed to get his wits together as he finally lifted his gun to eye level and aimed at Nick, he hesitated for a second, still a large amount of humanity in him.

and this humanity got him killed, Stephanie managed to pick up her gun in the snow and fire it at Boyd, it hit the elderly man in the hip, he screamed in pain as he shot Stephanie one, last sorrowful look...

BANG

Boyd fell into the snow, as dead as could be, Stephanie felt nothing. No regret, no emotion. Nothing. What was done was done.

And so she simply watched Nick savagely beat Joyce to death with a rock, until blood coated the woman's white hairs and her skin had been chipped off revealing the broken skull underneath, Nick's rage only seemed to die when his stamina did, panting like a thirsty dog he simply stood up after he finished his brutal murder. He didn't say a word he simply sat next to Stephanie in the snow, both of them were freezing, drenched in blood and were savages. There was nothing to say, the pair of them didn't look at each other, but simply gazed at the snow beneath their feet. Both in shock, both numb, both simply wanting to die right there.

"Sarah's dead" Nick finally grumbled.

The first flicker of emotion ran across Stephanie's face for a spilt second, she sniffed as she held back any human emotion that would flood to the surface, as images of the friendly 16 year old flooded the young woman's mind.

"The world is so fucked now" was all she sadly mumbled in reply.

Another silence weighed between them, Stephanie noticed Nick roll up his sleeves to gaze at his old scars, he sighed before he spoke again.

"When I was little I remember watching those crime shows, about guys my age who'd brutally slaughter helpless elderly people. I always thought those people were inhuman that no way in hell was I going to turn out like that. and now... looking at that woman's corpse right there, it just hits me. All these scars on me, they were well deserved" he paused there before sighing and continuing.

"Look Stef, I'm sorry. But I can't do this anymore... I... I'll hurt you. I was going to hurt Luke too, but I ran off because I knew what I had become. But now I saved you I... I don't want to kill anyone anymore, so just pick up that gun and kill me" Stephanie finally turned to a distraught looking Nick, as she openly asked "Is this what you want?" as he nodded slowly.

Stephanie slapped him across the face, as Nick blinked in surprise.

"You fucking coward Nick, is this what Sarah would have wanted? For you to give up? Get a fucking grip Nick. The cult are right, we are animals..." Stephanie snarled as Nick choked back a sob and mumbled "I... I can't be like that Stef!" as Stephanie merely scoffed at him.

"No, you taught me a long time ago that running away was the wrong thing. and you were right, you taught me that doing hard things to protect the people you love is the right thing. and I believed you, I watched you do it, at first I questioned what you did, I wanted to run away I didn't want to become like you. But the longer I spent around you, the longer I came to admire you Nick" her hands rested on Nick's larger one's as she spoke up next.

"You... you did it all alone. Those choices, they were really fucking hard. I know. I know Nick trust me, but... please, I wanted to be there for you. Be with me now, through all of this shit. Please!" she pleaded as she held him closer as she mumbled her next words "I can't face this alone Nick, I can't be a savage alone and neither can you. Not anymore, if you want to beat me for what I've done, fine. If you want to rape me than fucking fine! Just... just don't give up" she finished there as Nick held onto her hand, his grip growing tighter by the second as snow slowly began to fall around the blood-drenched and savage couple.

"Let's be monsters together then, the group's probably all dead by now. We've got nothing left to lose" Nick told Stephanie, a crazed look in both of their blue eyes was forming.

and so they sat there, villains, murders, psychopaths, animals, inhuman, monsters... the young couple could deal with those labels, unaware that they still had one final shred of humanity and love inside of them and that was for each other.

* * *

"Hey Rebecca I managed to clear the snow from around the truck..." Eddie mused to her before his words curled up and died on his tongue as he gazed at Rebecca's shaking form and the blood flecked on her coat.

"Rebecca what...?" was all Eddie managed to ask before Rebecca piped up hysterically

"Their all dead Eddie! Everyone! the cult gunned them down just like that! I... I ran... but their coming right now! their coming for the kids...!"

Eddie was stunned he stood there unable to digest what he had just heard, yet his brown eyes locked themselves upon the approaching figures in the white wilderness, he knew that the cult were defiantly approaching.

He knew the group were talking longer than was natural and grew concerned about them but to hear this? No, Eddie couldn't process it, thankfully though his body seemed to move on auto-pilot as he sprinted back into the truck and slammed his foot down onto the pedal. Rebecca stayed in the back watching over the still sleeping AJ and Lilly.

Eddie gulped, unable to believe that him, Rebecca and the two babies were the only four left alive because of that fact, there was nothing to go back for.

They could only move on and get to Wellington now.


	47. A Company Of Liars

**A/N: Thanks all again for your kind words and reviews as this story reaches it's climax needless to say I had the ending in mind for a while now but at this point it's been altered slightly... there is one character I'm currently hotly debating on whether they should live or die, but other than those two things the story should run according to plan.**

* * *

Eddie kept his wide eyes trained intently on the road ahead of him, he had been driving for hours now and couldn't see the snowstorm letting up any time soon. He sighed to himself as he swerved around what looked like a snow dune as the truck bumped violently over the road. Rebecca moaned from where she was sitting while AJ and Lilly slept through it all. Ever since the pair had run away from the cult it had been completely silent in the truck, no words were exchanged.

A beeping red light caught Eddie's attention as he gazed down at the fuel meter and cursed.

Rebecca caught his curse word, her head peaked upwards slightly as she muttered "What is it?"

"Were almost out of fucking fuel, Goddamnit!" Eddie bellowed, punching the wheel in frustration as Rebecca looked on sadly, her eyes focused on the peaceful sleeping forms of AJ and Baby Lilly, if they had to go out in that snowstorm those infants would die within days, maybe even hours It wasn't an option to leave this truck. Yet... they couldn't carry on ahead, they were getting no-where.

"Eddie, there's something I've got to tell you..." Rebecca confessed.

Eddie whipped around in the driver's seat, his eyes blazing as he ranted "I already know Rebecca, you're a bad liar you know? I know Luke and the others might still be alive! I could see the guilt on your face! He probably told you too run and rightly so, if we turn back for them then they'll have died for nothing! We have to focus on keeping the kids safe...!"

"Keeping them safe! Eddie with the amount of fuel with have! We'll end up stranded in the middle of nowhere, with no one to watch our backs other than the cult who are still probably following us! Either we turn back and try and find our friends! Or we can just carry on and die for sure..."

"REBECCA THAT'S FUCKING INSANE!" Eddie finally exploded, as he moved his hands wildly to get his point across "WE CARRY ON AND WE MIGHT GET TO WELLINGTON, WE HAVE A SHOT IF WE HEAD FORWARDS! IF WE HEAD BACK WE'LL RUN OUT OF FUEL FOR SURE! AND THEN WHAT!? EVEN IF WE SOMEHOW FIND THEM AND DEFEAT THE DAMN CULT WE'LL ALL BE STUCK OUT IN THE SNOW! WE WON'T EXACTLY BE SKIPPING INTO THE SUNSET, AJ AND LILLY WILL SIMPLY FREEZE TO DEATH SURROUNDED BY MORE PEOPLE...!"

"EDDIE! WE CAN'T LEAVE THEM! I NEVER SHOULD HAVE LEFT THEM...!" Rebecca's guilt came crashing to the surface and out of her mouth, as Eddie scoffed at her before turning his eyes back on the road ahead.

"Even if they are alive Rebecca, they want us to get to Wellington that's what we have to do. I know it's hard, but think about your son! Think about Lilly! Were the only hopes those kids have" Eddie seemed to have the last word as Rebecca slumped back into her seat, defeated. AJ was starting to stir in sleep due to all the yelling going on in the truck, Rebecca scooped him up and cradled him gently as the blizzard continued to rage outside.

"You better be right about this" Rebecca muttered.

"If I'm not. Were dead" Eddie stated matter of factly yet inside his heart hammered in his ribcage as he held onto the steering wheel tighter, trying to bury his grief for now. He had to constantly keep the truck moving just as Molly had done, yet he prayed to any God listening that their fuel would hold out just for a little bit longer. They were in Ohio now, maybe near to the state border... all he needed was one last stretch to get to Wellington.

"We can make it" Eddie assured himself.

* * *

"Here"

Nick blankly pointed at an empty cave on the steep cliff face, it looked like a woodpecker had drilled into the mountainside leaving a very clear black hole in the silver-ish coloured slate rocks. Below them was a steep valley with a rolling plain and a crystal clear river, and above them... above them there was the chanting... and the fire's...

Wading through the snow Nick and Stephanie had ventured on aimlessly, until that is Nick spotted the first set of cultists talking amongst themselves. The pair crouched down in the bushes and it was then Stephanie realised something.

"We never see them talking like this, they've lost track of us" She stated clearly, as Nick nodded, his pupils dilating wider as an uncontrollable grin spread across his face.

"The hunter, becomes the hunted" He mused to himself under his breath, both he and Stephanie had small knives on them, as Nick's anger at Luke had evaporated the instant he ran away from his friend. Luke was his best friend a man Nick loved like an brother, Luke... he had to save Luke from himself. Besides Luke had acted correctly now that Nick looked back and analysed the situation he was simply being a hot-headed idiot as always, whereas Luke had tried his best to save Sarah.

No, the people Nick blamed for Sarah's death were the cult themselves.

They were behind everything, their gunshots drew the walkers to the scene, they shot walkers by them but not one of them had shot at the one that bit Sarah. No, they waited and watched knowing full well that shit was going to go down, especially if innocent, optimistic Sarah died and yes... it had made Nick snap. He knew it and he no longer cared (even if he was pre-warned by Luke's foretelling of his pre-life) he wasn't making the mistake of threatening to shoot Luke or Clementine again. No, this time he knew to direct his anger at the right people, the people who deserved to suffer for putting him through so much hell.

They wanted him to be a monster, well they achieved that. They could have him as a monster.

Every-Last-Bit-Of-Him.

Stephanie had been a bit more level headed she suggested that they follow the cultists back to wherever the hell they came from, so they could extract revenge more easily if they knew the cultists home. The duo followed the cult members for hours, frozen to the bone and soaked by the snow (Stephanie's hip wound also slowed her down, Nick managed to bandage it up with a small bag of meds he carried with him, just in case something like this happened, yet he knew his job could never be as good as Sarah's).

His thirst for vengeance kept him ploughing onwards, trailing the cult in a similar fashion the cult had trailed them. Eventually hours passed the land started to slope upwards, as they ascended snow covered mountains. Stephanie had observed what the camp had looked like, for a group so large it was fairly simplistic, a few hundred tents and other shelters were propped up against the snow-bed. The fierce gales that blew across the mountaintop (or fairly large hill, the plain the cultists camp was located on was large and very high up but also very flat).

"I thought it would be bigger than this" Was all Nick had to say.

"Maybe they have different outposts or something, if they have enough people to follow us then they should do. Besides look at those tents they can be packed up and carried, they set up a camp close to where we are and then keep on moving as we do" Stephanie tried to explain, however Nick's eyes had already focused on what appeared to be something large and square in size concealed underneath a thin, white sheet. The sheet flapped in the wind like a flag on a flag-post and for a few seconds Nick saw what was beneath one of these sheets as uttered a swear word.

"What is it?" Stephanie asked, her aqua eyes trained on not just one but what was five of these "things" hidden under white sheets.

"Their trucks, they have trucks Stef that's how they've been following us the whole fucking time" Nick spat.

Stephanie's eyes widened, however her surprise died off within seconds as she stifled a yawn and uttered "Well, that explains a lot, we can't steal them either they are waaaaay too heavily guarded" she emphasised the word "way" for a good reason. Around each truck stood around 10 guards each with their guns pointed towards the flock of tents and beyond.

Before Nick and Stephanie moved on they made a few more observations about the camp, children and adults strolled along the tents in a normal manner, they seemed to use a lot of fire's to keep themselves warm in this cold weather. Finding the cave right under this very camp was a blessing for both Nick and Stephanie, Stephanie and gathered the firewood they would need for dinner.

Peering into the cave and inspecting it Stephanie whistled, clearly impressed with their new found sanctuary. The cave had to be about 10 feet high and stretched back for 30 odd meters, plenty of space for two people seeking shelter from the harsh winter winds at such a high altitude yet also not too big. Just the right size to feel cozy for them both.

Stephanie kissed Nick on the lips, thanking him for finding this place as she let her bag of supplies fall on the rocky floor, she bent over and proceeded to work on creating a fire.

"You sure you don't want to run off this time?" Nick asked of her, as he dragged "dinner" into the cave.

"No, these fuckers earned it" Was Stephanie's gruff reply.

Winter, they had no food on them during the gunfight and no animals were around to be hunted. So what could make better dinner than a lone cult guard reliving himself in the woods? He only had to be alone for a few seconds for Nick slide out from the woods and silt the man's throat as if he were cutting butter. He slumped dead on the ground, retching in his final moments as the raven haired couple carried him away from his fellow cultists. He heard the concern in their tones as they trampled through the forest, worrying about their missing friend, determined to find him.

They never found him, Nick had gotten away with this "meal" who cared if they were cannibals anymore? No one was left alive that Nick cared about other than Stephanie, he knew Luke was now probably dead, along with Clem, Sarah and the others. In fact he took a great deal of pleasure in hearing the cultists worried tones, how many times had those men listened to _him_ worry about a lost friend? How many times had they laughed as _he_ lost another friend, due to their interference? He wondered if they laughed when they skinned the corpses of said dead friends and mutilated them?

Well tonight, cultist was for supper and Nick had no regrets as long as his stomach was full.

and that Stephanie was well fed.

* * *

"Ugh..."

Sarah awakened her head feeling heavier than it had ever felt in her life, she blinked rapidly to clear her vision of blue coloured stars. As her eyes slowly adjusted to the world around her and the dull orange glow of a small fire in front of her. Wiping her eyes she realised she was lying on something comfortable and soft, yawning she stretched her arms... or her arm.

Gasping her eyes locked on her bandaged stump of an arm, she wanted to cry but all of her tears had dried at this point. Leaving her to openly gawk at her lost arm, as the previous events crashed over her... the cult...watching Luke cut her arm off and then finally watching Nick about to kill Luke... the last thing she saw was Nick about to slaughter a defenceless Luke who had tried to save her life. It made her feel sick inside to see what he had become.

Yet, she wanted too see him more than ever.

"Ah, I see you are awake" came a lofty voice that made Sarah jump, she realised then that she was in some sort of tent as the leader of the cult himself crouched down low and entered through a small flap to Sarah's left. Upon seeing him again with only a small cut across his nose and cheeks it made her enraged to know that while he was alive, her friends could be dead.

"G-get aw-away from me!" she stuttered at him, her hands frantically searching for any form of weapon she could find yet the fingers on her remaining hand only brushed through what she now realised was a rug, a rug made of bear skins. She guessed if the cult were good at skinning people they also skinned animals. Yet despite the comfortable thing she was lying on their were no weapons in Sarah's blurry vision.

"I haven't come to hurt you Sarah, I heard you shuffling and decided to check up on you. Now that you're awake..."

"Where are my friends!?" she cut him through with.

"Why... Sarah. Sarah. I am so sorry but your friend Luke, he is dead. Slaughtered by Nick you know what you saw in those last moments, you know it's true..."

Sarah gulped, she knew what Nick had descended too, yet she still had to ask "Are... are Nick and the others..."

"We had to put Nick down, the rest of your group were devoured by walkers while trying to escape from us. We only managed to drag, you, Clementine and the two babies too safety here with us" the stranger informed her, no warmth in his voice, yet there was lack of malice in it too. He sounded just like he had done the first time Sarah had heard him... neutral.

Which meant he was hiding something.

"You're lying! Their not dead!" Sarah exclaimed wildly in disbelief, as the stranger shook his head sadly.

"I... I can't lie to you about this Sarah. Clementine was the same when I told her, I know what it's hard to believe but I need the two of you girls to be tough. I need you to know that if one of you tries to flee, I kill the babies..."

Sarah's eyes widened in horror as she exclaimed "THAT'S EVIL! YOU'RE EVIL! YOU CAN'T DO THAT! I... I...I..." Sarah spluttered to a sudden halt, the stranger had got her exactly where he wanted her.

"...you won't be leaving, you are a kind girl Sarah, I know you shall stay and look after the children. But unfortunately I must kill them because we recently checked our tents and Clementine was already gone..."

"She... She can't have escaped! She... you...!" Sarah didn't know what too say, as her head became jumbled by this mass outpouring of information from the stranger's mouth. She had no time to process all this news at once as she gulped and awaited for the stranger to speak to her once again.

"She could escape. You heard us, we gave everyone a choice, we always have. We told her she could leave if she wished, if she no longer loved us and sadly she decided too. Even though her escape will cost the life of two innocent babies, the only things left to remember your group by, Clementine knew this but still decided to run..."

"Maybe she was scared, maybe she felt like she had nothing left to lose!" Sarah rushed excuses for Clementine's behaviour only made the stranger shake his head once again as he sadly sighed and told her "You are still so innocent Sarah. But Clementine is a monster, just like the rest of your group was. She can't be with us in this community so we allowed her to leave..."

"Just let her go! But don't actually kill the babies! She... she can feel guilty because she won't know that the babies are alive! She...!" Sarah shouted to no avail.

"She won't know. But you will Sarah. Clementine's selfish actions put you at risk of seeing the babies die, I wanted them! I wanted to raise them as my own and look after them, but I must stick to a promise..."

"You...!"

"I can and will. I am sorry Sarah but that's what will happen. Unless..."

It was that single word, that one singular word that caught Sarah's attention as she leant forward in desperate interest to save whatever she thought was left of her group. The stranger knew Sarah far too well from "observations" his group had made about her. He knew what sort of conditions she suffered, so what if she toughened up slightly? So what if she could now kill someone? So what if she could now function in this world? She was still too soft at heart and still... still stupid enough for the stranger to trick her into doing what he thought needed to be done. He didn't know when he started loving Sarah over Clementine but she...she was perfect for him!

"Unless... you can put a stop too it. I want you to kill Clementine Sarah, or else the babies will die, if you give me Clementine's corpse than you and the babies will maintain harmony at this camp. Whereas Clementine can only escape by killing you and if you die the babies die. So she still has the choice, escape alone with all of her friends dead, knowing it was her fault. Or..." he grinned demoniacally at Sarah.

"You can win. She's not your friend Sarah not anymore. We are your friends. We saved your life, we patched up your arm and we gave you a gift" in his skin-suited fingers he extended a small gift towards the Hispanic teenager, using her remaining hand she twirled the gift in her fingers. Instantly recognising them as glasses as she planted the thing on her nose, as the world came back into sharper detail once again.

"Better?" the stranger asked her kindly. Although revolted by his now (more clear) image up close (especially regarding the skin-suit of Pete he wore, minus the head which Molly had successfully ruined) Sarah nodded. By some strange means she appreciated this cult leader, for giving her the glasses she had needed for weeks now. She had grown so accustomed to her blurry vision it was almost natural, now with her glasses back she felt exhilarated for some strange reason. Maybe after everything she had lost she needed some good news...

But this man. This man was asking her too kill Clementine! She couldn't... she...

"She's my best friend! I... I can't do this" She mumbled sadly to her knees.

"You can Sarah. These friends of your's Sarah, they are no longer your friends. We will welcome you here with open arms, you don't want to become like them. You are sweet Sarah and you are kind" the stranger took her smaller hand and placed his two cold and flaky hands over it. Giving her hand a reassuring squeeze he whispered to her "Were not savages here Sarah. I lead you to where we suspect Clementine is hiding, you can go there and we'll give you a gun with one bullet, you know who to shoot".

"You... you don't trust me!" Sarah demanded unable to believe she was asking for _their_ trust. Yet she wanted to prove herself, she had wanted to do something good for so long now...

"Of course we do. But if you want to join us Sarah, you need to show us that you are willing to dispose the world of monsters. I know doing this will hurt you but that girl is not your friend. She doesn't give a damn about you, or me or anyone else. The real Clementine died a long time ago Sarah. Please realise that" The stranger begged of her, as Sarah gulped, gazing at her shaking hands as she barely managed to utter "and what if I don't do it? What happens to me then?"

The stranger held his head high, as he announced clearly "The babies still die and Clementine still leaves. Nothing happens to you of course, we will still allow you to live. You and Clementine can live if you do nothing... but" he paused there dramatically before continuing with a heavy tone to his words "Think about the children".

Sarah didn't know what sort of idiot this guy took her for, she knew she was going to be manipulated, she knew he was up to something. Yet her throat was clogged and she was unable to speak. Luke... Luke had tried to save her yet she had doubted his words. So was he right about the cult murdering him and Clementine in another life? Did he randomly just attack them and force Luke to do something horrible to Clem? Then he murdered them both. Was this man asking of the same thing of her? To make her do something horrible and then just murder her anyway?

Her head was a mess, she didn't stop to actually think about it. To ask the questions she should have done.

Luke, dead. Nick died an animal. Eddie, Rebecca, Stephanie, Bonnie and Molly all dead and gone devoured by walkers. If the walkers got Eddie and Rebecca then Sarah guessed it made sense that the cult now had the babies with them. All of her group were gone other than the babies, she knew if the group were alive they'd do anything to protect the babies.

Even if it meant killing their best friends.

"I'll... I'll do it" Sarah's couldn't believe she had said it. But she had.

The stranger smirked from ear to ear, telling her how brilliant and brave she was, fake praises that made that stupid fucking bitch smile sheepishly, he left that tent, his sinister plan already in motion.

He had spoken to Clementine, his whole plan to get him to love her had faded after that "talk". She had screamed things so offensive to him, he... he knew she was too far gone. He reassured himself that he could save her... but now he knew that Sarah was the only who could be saved. She was still so sweet and innocent and this would ultimately be her downfall.

He gazed over at where his cult members roasted the skins of Nick, Stephanie, Molly, Luke, Bonnie, Rebecca, Eddie and the two infants. So.. he might have told a little white lie to Sarah. Big deal. It wasn't like he planned to keep her around anyway he just wanted one last form of revenge on Clementine. On that damn group who had stretched his group to their very limit. How many of them had died of the elements? Of walkers? Of his own rage's sometimes? Of the group themselves? Their numbers had been reduced by a great deal since this "experiment" had first began.

For each death he blamed the other group, how he had went to thousands of followers to just under 500 in the space of a few months? He had hammered the point into the brains of the remaining cultists all right, they had suffered just as much as the other group had. He knew they were loyal to him, he knew he had created villains. Villains, a perfect example of villains so his remaining followers would remain glued to this group. His numbers may have decreased but he now knew who was truly loyal to him and the toughest of the tough would survive this. He picked the weak, so they could grow strong...

In a way, that's what he wanted all along. A mass group had been a nice touch, but this time around he would get the smaller, compacted group of his most loyal followers. He didn't need any second chance thing anymore... after that talk with Clementine. No, fuck the second chance and it's fucking rules. Who fucking cared anymore? Seriously? He could prove it too his group but... but he no longer cared if Clementine had that ability or not. He didn't care if she killed herself or if he killed her or if she died in general.

"Fucking try and take me back this time" he snarled to himself.

If he blinked and he was back where he started (just as it had been with Luke) then fuck it. He didn't know what he'd do, but Clementine would die this time around and he would make sure he wouldn't be sent back. It probably changed from time to time, all he knew is that he wanted the group dead and gone for good. All this effort of following them, all of this effort had been to prove to his cult and Clementine her group were monsters and he could get her back to live off some second chance or... he just wanted to do things differently.

His most loyal followers had been the same last time, in that snowstorm following Clementine and Luke many of them had died, the cult were fed up, the point was proven that the group were villains. Now it was time to finish them off, the stranger felt this uncontrollable jealously at Luke for taking his Clementine away from him.

He was mentally exhausted, last time it felt like he was building a majestic lego structure. About to add a flag for a prominent last touch, but then he grew lazy and in a sudden impulse he didn't want to put the flag down. He didn't want to make anymore effort in something he had been building at for so long, so he simply knocked it down. He simply watched as he ordered Luke to rape Clementine, his darkest fantasy playing out in front of him as he laughed and slaughtered them both.

Second time around he promised himself he would try to save Clementine, it was harder to watch the group go to ruin when Luke was changing things. It cost more of his group's lives to get where he was now. and he had reached that point again, the point where he was lazy, the point where he no longer cared. Luke and the rest of the group were dead, he had no one left to play with. No one left to convince Clementine that her group had become monsters.

He stupidly ordered the cult to slaughter the group and now here they all were, roasting on a fire in front of him.

So the final plan was simple, lie to Sarah. Get her too shoot Clementine who would try to escape (the stranger didn't put her into the tent with that loose stitching for no reason) Clementine was restless, he knew she would try to escape and she would succeed. He ordered no guards to be on duty by the exit to the camp, only one person would be there. That would be Sarah who would shoot her friend and how easy would it be for the stranger to act upset. To pretend Sarah had simply snapped as they shot her down, he would cry crocodile tears of his "Clementine". About how he wanted her as a daughter, he wanted to save her and Sarah had gone on to murder her...

That would confirm to his remaining group even the most innocent had gone mad, even after his cult had tried to save her life she was still going to murder and slaughter. All of the group would then be dead and what would his group ultimately learn through this?

That his way was the _right_ way. No questioned asked, the Howe's group were doomed from the start. This wasn't about saving them, or following them for no reason. This was too watch them all die and prove a point to his cult. Humans were monsters, live like me and you'll be fine.

Besides the cult themselves had no idea what he had said to Sarah, or his talk with Clementine. For all they knew he still adored Clementine. He was still willing to save her.

Well, after what she said to him... the plan had changed.

His final master plan. So what if he killed, manipulated and lied to everyone?

It was still Sarah's choice? Right?

* * *

The stranger stomped off in all his glory, his master plan set in stone in his mind as he prepared to get Sarah into position for all of this too play out.

Completely unaware his own group had hoodwinked him completely.

"Is he gone?" one cultists whispered to another, they held their breaths before breathing in relief as another cultist confirmed "Yeah, his gone".

Around 20 of them sat huddled around the roasted corpses of their friends. These cult members were murdered, murdered. skinned alive and presented as members of the other group. Those who wanted to suck up to their leader, those who wanted more recognition, praise, bigger tents, power and influence in this cult. They had gained it already and told their leader that they were the one's who shot down these people.

"Those were the only fucking honest words they said" one lowly cultist grumbled.

It was clear there was a higher class and lower class social structure in this group, despite their leader's words that they were all equal here. But that was bullshit, it was their supposedly supernatural leader who was so obsessed with watching that over group he didn't start too notice the cracks in his own.

Those who gained higher privileges, some respected him, some were actually going along with what he said. Others bullied and intimidated others to get to the top, these type of people didn't respect their cuckoo leader. They were only looking out for themselves, they only wanted bigger tents, more power and less observing of the other groups.

It was these people, (the one's sat huddled around the fire now) the lowest of the low in the cult, who their leader always selected to come with him on his stupid strolls. He thought his other "friends" were too valuable to lose so the less respected cultists were always sent off on these dangerous missions. Whether to die at the hands of the other group, or illness, wolves, or exposure to the elements itself... all causes of death for them.

"We have to leave soon guys, What those bastards did to our friends, that was the last straw. I can't let my family grow up around these type of people" A woman voiced her thoughts as a few others nodded.

"But where we would go too? We'd be hunted down and if there's one thing our leader has done right it's too show us how bad other people can be" one man huffed.

"True, even if that other group are somehow still alive out there. We are not joining up with them, no way. They are despicable, savage human beings for sure. But so what? It's just because our leader is sprouting bullshit about a second chance and he knew a few folk from that group beforehand somehow makes them our experiment. That could have been any group and the result would have been the same..." one man seemed to be the voice of reason around the fire, he was met with vigorous nods at his words.

"...added to the fact. We did interfere, as much as they are too blame. You can't deny we played a part in some of it" a woman added to more nods of agreement.

"So, we can complain about it all we want. But are we actually going to try something to get the hell outta here?! Our leader keeps all of the truck's keys on him, if we can make a distraction or... or simply run off on foot...!"

"That's crazy talk, if we try anything those closest to our leader will gun us down in a heartbeat. They're the best shooters here, we... we cant fight them. We could try... one day. But for now we need to keep our heads low. Most of us are only here for the shelter, food and security..." a woman tried to speak up but she was instantly shot down by another man.

"We've sat around and been used like puppets since day one! I don't give a shit about that Clementine, Sarah our damn leader or those assholes who think they're above us! If we don't move soon, it will be us next! The only real corpse here is that Bonnie's woman's. The rest is burnt flesh, we can't tell our leader the truth. His killed some of us before when we have failed him! Besides those higher up's would probably state we were lying and our leader would take their side over our's... but the point I'm trying to make is...!"

"That his already a dictator. Our leader. He preaches goodness, yet when he looks in the mirror, He is blinded by his own self-arrogance" a woman finished off the man's statement in quiet, wispy tone. As the group slumped in a silence, unsure of what to do next.

"A whole family's on that fire y'know? Father, Mother two twin babies, this is what we've sunk too people" someone grumbled gazing at the scorched hunks of flesh held up above the fire by a giant stick.

"Ian's still missing, I had to tell our leader, he was gunned down and that we shot him in head and buried him. He fell for the ploy, then again he fell for these corpses being that of the group. Good thing we burned them real fast" another cultist pointed out.

Another silence rang out after this, as the cultists all thought back to what they had done, some people they slaughtered weren't bandits... the lodge full of sick people. Yes, they had to rid of them too prevent diseases spreading but still the majority of them were children! Or helpless adults! What about that poor redhead woman who has ripped to shreds just for making a placebo for that Bonnie woman? Who died later anyway? What was the point of all their friends being shot down?

It was all these factors that made the cult despise their leader somewhat, but also fear him. Too them the other group members were dead, they told this their leader to satisfy him. To fulfil his duty, but they also lied so they wouldn't have to be sent out on anymore reckless missions. They were sick of watching the same group go to ruin. (Well most of them were).

The stranger was laughing at Sarah for not asking the obvious questions of "Can I see the babies?" and assuming instantly her whole group was dead.

Unaware that he was making the exact same mistake, by simply glancing at the burnt corpses and being deceived by them. He had too much faith in his cult.

His own followers had lied to him.

* * *

"Same injury as me, huh?" Luke had said, as Molly merely scoffed as she used the branches to support herself, her bleeding kneecaps weren't getting any better. Luke watched the blonde woman stumble onwards for hours, she refused all forms of help. No matter how much her kneecaps killed her, or no matter how difficult it was to walk. Luke had to admire her strength, but she was slowing him down. Eventually he simply scooped her up into his arms, she was now too weak to wriggle out of his grip.

"I want to puke, you're so god-damn stereotypically heroic it makes me sick" Molly groaned as Luke simply carried the limp woman forwards.

"If it helps, I needed help minutes after my injury, not hours. So you're one tough cookie" he told her brightly.

"Well I suppose knowing that, makes this a bit more bearable" Molly commented back, a light smile playing on her face as she felt the last of her strength zap away from her. She was too damn exhausted to speak another word, Luke had patched up her knee's but they still ached. Maybe she shouldn't have walked on them all day.

She soon fell into a doze as Luke simply stumbled onwards.

Stumbling onwards, following the cult's previous trails in the snow. Heading directly towards where they had come from.

He was going back for Clementine of course, he had made a promise. He wasn't one to break a promise.

* * *

Clementine sat rigid in her tent.

_Not regretting a word she said to the stranger._


	48. A Deadly Game

**A/N: Quite simply, here is chapter 48! (My shortest author's note ever) **

* * *

Clementine sat there stiffly, a cold gust swept past the tent she was currently sat in. Her throat was still dry due to all the insults she had thrown at the stranger. It wasn't just her rage at him that had caused her outburst.

It was rage at herself.

To scream insults and abuse at someone else was one thing, but to do it too yourself... it was even worse. Too Clementine the stranger was _her. _He was every mistake she had ever made, he was everything she hated about herself. If only she had shot him in the first place none of this would have happened and they would all probably still be sitting in Howe's, safe and warm one year after defeating Carver. Life at Howe's wasn't perfect but it was certainly an improvement to where Clementine was now.

Yes Christa, Lilly and Molly would probably be absent from such a life as the cult led them to their group in the first place... but Clementine longed to see Kenny and Sarita again, she wanted to see Bonnie, Mike, Gill, Patricia, Randy, Wyatt... all friends she had lost along the way. Kelly was also a good friend and Vince... before everything she missed the old Vince more than she thought possible. Sitting isolated in this tent all she could envision was his haunted face as he sank to the depths of the Lake...

An complete asshole by that point, yes. But also ruined. Ruined by the fucking cult.

She would make them pay.

It wasn't just vengeance that played on Clementine's mind when she screamed at the stranger, no. Carver's group had killed her friends but the cult hadn't just killed them he had destroyed them. Vince... was driven insane. Gill... left to die and then stitched onto a skin cape along with his parents... murder, theft, suicide the stranger had proven that her group were capable of such things. But what was worse? To be part of a group of monsters.

Or to simply, create the monsters?

_Clementine awoke in the tent, after being lagged along by the cultists for hours her head lolled to her side and she blacked out all of the fight she had left in her had physically exhausted her body. Until it screamed and ached in fatigue and Clementine simply gave into fatigue the only words of comfort to her that helped her lull into a slumber, were Luke's._

_"I'll come back for you Clementine!" _

_She knew he would, yet that made worry slightly more and what if hadn't escaped the cult? Trying not to dwell on these thoughts Clementine entered what should have been a peaceful slumber._

_But it wasn't._

**_Another damn dream, this time it was more clear than ever she was in a cave. Her whole body was screaming in agony as she stared at the roof of the cave, unblinking watching the shadows to what she knew were a nearby fire dancing along the rocks._**

**_Where was she? What was this place? She thought those thoughts as she remembered this dream, it was just like the last one. The sinister tone of "It's me" being that of Luke. If that was the case what was this dream about? Her thoughts raced in her head rapidly as she tried to remember she had this dream twice now. First it was back in Howe's where someone was singing her a song and the second time she had this dream to people were holding her down because of her wounds and they said she was going to bleed out..._**

**_In this dream she could here the murmurs of what sounded like two other people, her body was paralysed as she tried (with all her willpower) to stand up. She couldn't, she was in too much pain. She couldn't move a damn muscle. All she could do was sit there and think... "Think Clementine!" she demanded of herself as she furrowed her brows in concentration._**

**_These dreams weren't normal, they had something to do with this second chance thing, a whole new gift. Not being given a second chance but being given a... a glimpse of things to come. That's what it was, the last time she had this dream she felt a sense of fore-boarding because it was right after she'd been shot by Kenny._**

**_Shot By Kenny._**

**_It hit her. These dreams weren't just a vision into the future they were a warning, they had grown more severe and troubling the further the group went to ruin and now this dream was as vivid as ever. Something very bad was going to happen to her to end up in this state, last time her oldest friend had shot her... and this time... this time._**

**_She choked back a sob as she remembered it all, finally able to lift her head and gaze at the two people around the camp-fire..._**

_"I heard you moaning, I thought you needed help" came the stranger's lofty tone. Clementine remembered everything about that dream except for the final two most important details who was around the camp-fire and why she had sobbed. Who had betrayed her?_

_"Go away, I don't need your help" Clementine snarled at him._

_"I only want..." he began taking a seat next to her. Clementine could see how this talk was going to go already. She was fed up of it and didn't want to here any more bullshit. She never wanted to be with this freak, nothing he could say now would persuade her to join him. So before he even finished his sentence she already started shouting._

_"NO! LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE! I DON'T WANT TO BE A PART OF YOUR STUPID GROUP! I NEVER WANT TO BE!" She bellowed, the stranger only smiled sadly at her, a smile which infatuated her beyond belief, he was going to talk again, he was going to say something about her being young and rash and that he could forgive her. No, she wouldn't sit here and listen to anymore of his crap, he was treating her like an innocent little girl and she hated that._

_"I'm glad your family died, your a failure. And you know it" Clementine uttered darkly, the poison in her tone very noticeable and infectious._

_Now it was her turn to smile, she saw the stranger's eyes widen slightly as he tried to win this game of self-control by grinning back at her and titling his head to the side as he carefully muttered "Now, now Clementine you don't mean it"._

_"Oh no, I do" Clementine responded. The stranger didn't seem to be giving up on this fight, he wanted to be the calm master while she was the stupid, raging child. No, she wasn't that child. She was clever, she may have only been 12. But when she was 11 she looked William Carver in the eye (a fully grown, strong psychopathic who killed countless people) and played mind games with him and she won. It may have been argued that this was just because of her second chance, but that side of her was still there. She had been terrified and that's where she had gone wrong this time around._

_Trying to calm the situation to save her friends, getting depressed when they died anyway. She was tired of moping around, she was able to save her friends not just because she had a second chance. It was Luke always told her she was a clever girl and she never gave herself enough credit, she had saved her friends by making those tough choices. Not even she knew the outcome, because she had changed how things were originally going to be, it was the same this time. _

_It was time to start fighting back._

_"You were right about Luke you know" Clementine cut in one of the stranger's observations on her, he gazed at her, this was going to be gamble, a massive gamble._

_But one she was willing to take._

_"What are you talking about?" he asked, raising a single eyebrow._

_Clementine smiled back at him, conducting the greatest lie she had ever told and looking him in the eye... it was surprisingly easy to say the words "Luke told me all about his second chance before he told the others. I knew, you don't understand it do you? Your cult don't see absolutely everything do they? Our group is completely fucked you know? You proved your point, and when you got Luke to rape me last time you knew it too. You wanted him to forcefully do it, he wouldn't have regretted it. Neither do I"._

_These last three words made the stranger's mouth hang open in shock._

_"That's right, Luke has been having sex with me ever since we left the Hardware Store" these words felt too strange to utter but judging on fast the stranger's face went from from a peachy pink to a furious red. She knew her lie was working wonders._

_"I-impossible! My cult members haven't seen you...!" he began._

_"They don't see everything, Luke needed me. I needed him, he didn't want to do it at first. He told me how wrong it was, he told me he'd never forgive himself for it. But I... I begged him. I told him I understood it all and that I needed it. He was only a man and... that's how it's been working for months now. He looks sad afterwards but I know he loves it. I love it too..." _

_"YOUR TELLING A PACK OF LIES CLEMENTINE!" The stranger roared losing his cool._

_Now, she was watching **him** to go to ruin. To kill someone was somewhat satisfying but to completely destroy the man who had destroyed so many close to her...it was sweet bliss. Clementine's smile widened as she carried on talking..._

_"You know it too, you know there's something between me and Luke. That's why you got jealous the first time and ordered him to rape and kill me. I guess last time you saw it with your own eyes and you lost your cool. That's it isn't it? Your jealous" Clementine mused, glancing at him._

_The next second a flaky hand was wrapped around her throat, the stranger's body was above her own, his wet tongue slid over her neck, his breath was hot as he whispered into her ear..._

_"I've always wanted to see you naked Clementine" _

_She hit him where it hurt, he wheezed and rolled over. However before Clementine could even dream of escaping he was back up again with his gun trained on Clementine's forehead, she panted but kept up her act. What she had just heard had shaken her right to the very core, but it was also a sneaking suspicion she had about him ever since she heard Luke's version of events. Why else was he so determined to prove Luke as a bad guy? This man had kidnapped her and spoke to his wife's head in a bag... that was two years ago. He was out of his mind completely now._

_Clementine may have been a little girl but she had been exposed to far too much, taboo's no longer existed in this world. No matter how dark, no matter how messed up or evil it could be... in this world there was always a possibility even the most disgusting, evil and disturbing things could come to light. Clementine now thought like that you always had to assume the worst, the very worst and she had. She now knew her prediction was right and her gamble had paid off._

_"LUKE'S DEAD CLEMENTINE! WE CAUGHT HIM AND ROASTED HIS FUCKING BODY! I'LL GO FETCH IT FOR YOU AND THEN YOU'LL SEE THAT FUCKING PEDO DESERVES!" He roared._

_"I was a as guilty as him. I'm not a good little girl anymore, I'll always love Luke. I'll never... ever love you" she told him calmly, only to receive a stinging slap across the face. Wiping away a droplet of blood that ran from her mouth she only continued to leer up at the crazed stranger._

_"You... I thought you could be saved Clementine... I thought... I... You..." _

_"By having sex with me? You accused Luke of that, you wanted to save me and keep me to yourself. Are you that obsessed with me? All for what? Because I saved your life? I never should have done it's the one thing I regret most" these words were the God's honest truth from the 12 year old. The stranger slapped her again but Clementine was numb to the pain, she had the stranger exactly where she wanted him. She was going to destroy him or he was going to kill her. Not that she cared anymore, if Luke really was dead (along with all the others minus Sarah and the babies that the stranger was currently ranting about) then she didn't feel like going on. Revenge clogged her mind, if you played mind games with Clementine, she would always bite back just twice as hard._

_"I give up on you Clementine, unless you beg for forgiveness I'll throw you into the fire like your friends, you have two hours to make your decision" he demanded as he left the tent and stormed off in a huff. Now Clementine was pleased, the stranger had been played at his own sick mind game and judging by the way he blurted out the news the others were dead to her... it seemed so forced._

It was a lie. Clementine saw straight through his lies now. The group weren't here, they were out there alive. If Luke really was dead the stranger would be smug about it. He wouldn't blurt it out to her like he had something to prove, he was lying. He didn't have the babies or Sarah here, well maybe Sarah as she saw the cult carrying her but maybe Sarah had died of her amputation or the group had somehow saved her. If she was here then there was only one thing to do... she had to escape this damn camp and find the others to get Sarah out of here. Or she could have tried to find Sarah herself...

She sat in her tent, rigid for a while thinking about all she said to the stranger and pondering on his words, were they true or not? Had she gone too far? But then as the minutes ticked by she asked herself the ultimate question how was she going to escape? She had to try something... but she heard the cultists passing outside right by the front of her tent...

Using her brain she picked up where her dad's cap was placed on the floor next to her and slowly crept over to the back of the tent. There was nothing but the sounds of gales passing on this side, cautiously she lifted the tent flap.

It lifted too easily, this tent... it was like she was sitting under a cloth with sticks to prop it up. There were no guards at this side of the tent, there was nothing... nothing but a blanket of snow.

Cautiously the 12 year old crawled out of the tent and ducked back underneath it's shadow as a few cultists walked by. This was easy... too easy. Yet no one seemed to see her or approach her. Clementine trekked on through the snow as she did she tripped up after she rushed to get away from a nearby cultist who said he thought he heard something. She turned and dived under the cover of a tent as he turned around, he saw nothing. As Clementine arm was cut by a sharp metal pole, that was protruding through the snow. No doubt it was being used to keep the tent next to Clementine upright.

She hissed in pain and held her bleeding arm in her hands as she waited for the cultist to move on. When he did so she stood up again yet this time for some sort of cover from the cult she rubbed her fingers in the blood from her arm and wiped it across her cheeks. Leaving crimson smears on her face.

It was a form of disguise in some ways, the cult said anyone with blood on their face was one of them. It wasn't much of a disguise but it was something and there was another reason Clementine had this blood on her face.

Because she was out for it.

The next twenty minutes passed by uneventfully, shivering in the cold Clementine managed to navigate her way around the edge of the cultists camp to find her way out of this freaky place. She was almost free when she spotted a single form standing there in the snow, her arm missing but somehow... in some way, she was alive!

Dropping her cover Clementine rushed out from behind the tent as she bellowed "SARAH!" the alarmed teenager turned towards where Clementine was bolting towards her, in a panic she lifted the gun in her hands.

"I'm so glad to see..." Clementine began her sentence died as she glanced at the gun in Sarah's fingers and the mournful look on teenagers face.

"Sorry" Sarah squeaked.

A resounding gunshot rang out across the camp.

* * *

Nick sat there, his clothing uncomfortable as the last splatters of cultists lay around his mouth and splattered in his grown facial hair, he numbly stared into the camp-fire in front of him, failing to feel it's warmth as the blood of his latest meal soaked through his clothes causing the black haired man to shiver. Stephanie was sucking on a raw white bone the pair of them ate ravenously not realising how hungry they were.

After hours of silence Stephanie finally grunted "Oo, oh, oo" causing Nick to look up at her oddly.

"Well we live like Caveman now, why not start speaking like them?" Stephanie suggested chuckling lightly at her own joke, Nick managed to crack a small smile before he lapsed back into his own thoughts. Stephanie approached him and placed her head on his chest feeling the beating of his heart underneath his wet clothing.

Her clothing was wet too, when he glanced at her Nick felt the "monster" inside of him rear it's ugly head. He tried to block out such thoughts but he felt so drowsy and so sad he couldn't help but stare. It was cold, but he sweating buckets...

"Nick..." Stephanie seemed to trembling as she lifted her face to meet his, the way her dampened hairs fell on her pale face and her shining aqua eyes in the dull orange fire of the cave... he was hypnotized. He never thought after coming this far and after everything he'd been through that he would still be alive. Yet alone fully fall in love with someone, glancing at Stephanie now... he realised he was.

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you, even if it is just a short while" Nick mumbled automatically to her.

"Corn dog" she replied just as randomly, as Nick looked down her as she explained herself "It's a saying me and my friends used to have. For someone whose unbearably corny" as Nick nodded at this information.

"I know it's corny Stef, but fuck... you're all I have left" Nick said back, causing Stephanie to clutch onto him tighter.

"You too, I... Nick we are going to die sooner rather than later. This cult is going to get us one day, if we continue to live here and kill them" Stephanie told him, Nick bit his lip and gazed at her "Do you want to leave Stef? We could forget this you know? Just move on and try to live..."

"We can't do that Nick. Were animals you think they'd accept us at Wellington? Hell, we barely even fit in at Howe's, were not meant to be like that. Even if we do get to Wellington we'll die pointlessly, why not die here at least we'll be doing others a favour, by trying to take out this cult". was Stephanie's reasoning as Nick grinned at her and pulled her petite form ever closer to his own.

"I was hoping you'd say something like that" he mused, that was his logic for staying and both of them had lost all of their humanity now. What was their left to live for? Where was there to go? No-where they'd die like monsters now, a thought that caused Nick to bow his head in sorrow. But after all the things he'd done this was karma, yet... there was still one last selfish human impulse that ran through his bones.

"Nick I..." Stephanie was saying shaking harder than ever, memories flooded her mind as her hand reached towards the hem of the black haired man's dark trousers.

"You're not alone Stef, I want too as well I'm not letting you go and I'm not letting you face this alone" he whispered into her. She shuddered as his own hand began to trail down her back, further than he moved it before, yet the raven haired woman seemed to like this as she moaned slightly and wrapped her legs tightly around Nick's torso. She fiddled with his trousers as they came down slightly revealing his boxers and the obvious lump.

"I... I've never..." Nick squeaked, his face suddenly pink with embarrassment as Stephanie smiled up at him, grabbing his coat she peeled the blood soaked thing off him along with the layers he wore underneath. Until his bare chest rested on Stephanie's own bare skin (she had removed her upper layers, with some help from Nick's shaky hands).

"Touch here" Stephanie muttered at him.

Nick's hand rested on an area he never thought it would, his blank and disbelieving stare only caused her to smile more, she loved every aspect of him. If only he could see what he was really like sometimes... "Nick, do whatever you want to me" it wasn't an instruction it was a request both of them needed this comfort at this time. With a sudden jolt Nick seemed to spring to life his breathing heavier as he kissed the woman he loved harder than he had ever done before, scooping her up he gently laid her on the cave floor as he hovered above her.

"If I hurt you, or if... you don't want me too. I'll stop" Nick wheezed to her.

"I'm already hurt Nick, I want you to make me feel better" Stephanie replied, at these words Nick's arm tensed as he held onto her more tightly. Kicking off their last layer of clothes, the two became lost in each other's sweaty forms, in all this death and misery for a few hours in that cave at night they simply forgot about it all.

* * *

"Wow" was all a stunned Nick could say afterwards.

He lay there, as nude as could be, Stephanie's body curled up on top of his own, both of them completely drenched in sweat. breathing more much loudly than they thought they would. Nick's lower regions felt slightly sore but he had never felt so alive, his head was light and clear... he simply stared at Stephanie, the woman he loved. The woman he had just lost his virginity too, the woman he wanted by his side at all times. She had helped him feel a lot better, but had he? Did he kiss her right? Did he... well was he good at it? He didn't know, he hadn't asked her yet.

Stephanie's eyes were closed, but a small smile was on her face as her thin arm was draped across Nick's chest, her hand resting in his knotty black hairs on his head. "Did... was I any good? Did I make you feel any better?" he nervously asked.

"I've never felt so... so good in my life" Stephanie mumbled, eyes still closed lost in a world of her own.

"Well... that's good I thought I hurt you when I was... well I think I was going to fast and not like... doing it right or..." Nick tripped on his words.

"Nick?"

"Yeah?" he responded to Stephanie cutting him off.

"Shut up"

He did so, just in time as well because a few seconds later a gunshot rang out from above them, causing the raven haired couple to bolt upwards in alarm.

"What was that?" Stephanie asked instantly.

"Gunshot, something must be happening up there" Nick answered as grim as could be. The couple's moment was ruined as they rushed back into their creased and blood drenched clothes, nervously awaiting whatever the cult had to throw at them this time. Stephanie still had her gun (they didn't use it last time due to the noise it make and unwanted interest it would attract) but if something drastic happened they'd have to use the gun.

* * *

Molly awoke she didn't know how long she had been asleep for, but she could tell by the way she yawned and by how much her kneecaps seemingly no longer ached that it must have been a while. and she was still in the same position she was in last time, alarmed she looked up at Luke with black rings under his eyes.

"Good evening" he said with humour causing Molly to look up at the setting sun in the sky, she had been out for a while.

"Did you... have you been carrying me the whole time?" she asked in disbelief.

"Had to stop every so often cause my arms have been aching, but I've been walkin' all day" Luke informed her, causing the blonde woman to gawk at him.

"How stupid are you? If you want to save Clementine you can't just waltz in after walking for days and except to be in good enough shape too save the day while fighting off fifty cultists" Molly snapped at him, Luke was rather taken aback by this tirade from the blonde woman.

"A thanks would have been nice" he told her.

"Luke, seriously get some sleep or get something to eat you look like shit" was her reply to his short comment.

"I'll be fine" Luke lied, his oldest and most used lie and one Molly instantly saw through.

"Really? Because from what I've heard the last time you tried to play hero by trying to walk into a place to save your friends, you were in a right sorry shape. Tired after not sleeping for days and apparently if you went ahead with your plan you'd have been caught anyway. Listen to me Luke don't just brush me off and say you're fine because I've only been around you for a few weeks and I'm already sick of hearing you say that. Put me down, get something to eat and sleep for a few hours" Molly demanded of him.

"I need to get to that camp, I can't stop for..." Luke began.

"No, you can. Clementine wants you to look after yourself, your whole damn group does. The way you've been, I don't know how the actual hell you're still alive big guy. But you are, you need to realise you're not a one man army anymore, stop taking on this task by yourself and for the love of God let your friends help you for once..."

"You... you consider me a friend?" Luke asked of her.

Molly didn't answer, pretending she was interested in a nearby tree before she sighed and spoke up again "Luke... I know you're a good guy and despite what you think of me. I'm not going to loot your supplies or run off. I care about Clem as well, don't you trust me enough to help you?" she gave him a very scrutinising eye. He finally seemed to deflate, stopping in his tracks the southern man as he gently lay Molly down. She tested her kneecaps she could walk on these alright.

She heard Luke crunch on a cracker behind her.

"Glad I knocked some sense into you, now's the time to be sensible not senseless" Molly told him wisely as he merely chuckled slightly and muttered "Okay then... my darlin' wife what's are you going to tell me to do next?"

"Get some sleep you stupid oaf of a husband" was her cutting reply, Luke grinned and made himself comfortable on the rock, looking over at Molly he asked one last question.

"Promise me you won't betray me" he requested.

"Hey, I'm not a complete witch, besides consider this my thanks for carrying me" Molly said with a small and genuine smile on her face, putting his faith into his new friend Luke closed his eyes and soon found himself fast asleep within minutes he was a lot more tired than he realised.

Molly didn't leave him, she liked his company and it was rare to find good people in this world anymore. Yet when she heard the gunshot she couldn't help but move forward a few pace's to investigate the sound. Of course there it was, the cultist camp. Luke hadn't realised he was feet away from it before Molly had nagged him to look after himself.

"Maybe it's for the best" she muttered looking back at where Luke lay, if he saw this camp now he'd dive in there no questions asked, he needed to look after himself. Not put himself in unnecessary danger.

However her eyes soon located the source of the gunshot, the blonde woman gasped.

"Shit" was all she could say in shock.

* * *

Clementine clutched the bleeding hole in her stomach, Sarah had shot her. Sweet, little Sarah her best friend had shot her... how? Sarah's gun trembled violently in her fingers as the first tears fell from her eyelids.

"I'm sorry Clem... he... the leader told me he has the babies. He... he says if you escape he'll kill the babies, everyone else is dead too. He... he says he told you this but... here you are still trying to run" Sarah sobbed, as Clementine felt a rage boil inside of her. Of course she had played the stranger at his own game, so now he was playing Sarah against her.

"His lying Sarah! He doesn't have the babies! We have to get out of here!" Clementine hissed in pain, as she clutched her stomach harder as more blood leaked from between her fingers.

"I...I...I..." Sarah couldn't think straight, she could hear voices behind her the stranger's was the loudest of them all, he screamed "MY CLEM! CLEMENTINE! CLEM!" as a few figures trailed after him. Sarah had no bullets and Clementine was standing right there... what was the stranger saying? What the hell? He wanted Clementine dead, but she had only been given one bullet and she hadn't had the guts to shoot Clementine in the stomach. Why was he calling her "My Clem" now? Was this part of the act.

The figures were drawing in there was time to escape, Sarah had no idea why she did it, it was a spur of the moment thing.

She dragged Clementine towards the edge of the camp and shoved her best friend down into the steep valley below.

Clementine fell, her body colliding violently with the sheer rock face of the mountainside, Sarah could only watch in horror, the gun in her fingers... she threw that down the cliff as well. Disgusted with herself as Clementine's tiny form became a dot and then nothing... she was gone, she had fallen thousands of feet, rolling violently down the steep slope of the mountain, had... had Sarah just killed her best friend? She couldn't breathe she was panicking so hard.

"YOU KILLED MY CLEMENTINE! I THOUGHT YOU WERE NICE SARAH!" The stranger bellowed in rage grabbing the stunned girl by the shoulders and shaking her hard as he prepared his gun. The other cultists reached the scene in the nick of time, as one of the cultists shouted "WHAT'S GOING ON!?"

"SHE MURDERED CLEMENTINE! THIS GIRL WHO WE SAVED... THIS GIRL WHO WAS SO INNOCENT, SHE IS A MONSTER SHE MURDERED THE LITTLE GIRL I CARED ABOUT SO MUCH! KNOW YOU ALL SEE THAT ALL GROUP'S WHO DON'T SIDE WITH ME GO TO HELL...!"

"Um... how exactly did she kill the girl, she doesn't have a gun on her" a cultists pointed out, as the stranger cursed. Sarah managed to whimper (in her terror) "You... you lied..." to the raging Stranger.

"SHE PUSHED HER OFF A CLIFF!" The stranger roared demented, as a few curious Cultists looked down at the valley below, they saw no Clementine as they gazed at their leader puzzled.

"Until we have evidence we can't just kill her like that" one of them pointed out.

"SHE'S A MURDERER! SHE FUCKING DESERVES IT!" The stranger roared once again, yet the more demented he became, the less his cult listened to him. One woman bent over and muttered softly "Um... Sarah... you didn't push Clementine down that cliff did you?" the question was met with an instant and gasped reply from Sarah. Who only had one choice, she was terrified.

So, she had to lie.

"I... I... no. I didn't do anything. I don't know where Clementine is!" Sarah rushed out her words.

"LIAR!" The stranger bellowed causing Sarah to flinch.

"Look none of us saw what happened other than you boss" one cultist said clearly, before the stranger could explode he continued "But if Clementine's body is down that cliff then we'll go and find it, bring it back here. Then you'll have your evidence and we can kill this girl for her crime" was the grim conclusion. The stranger seemed to calm himself slightly, hating the doubt he was receiving from his group but he had to play it cool. He didn't want to appear like a screaming maniac to them. He saw Sarah push Clementine off that cliff, if only his slow ass group had just moved a little faster, they would have seen it too.

"Okay, you find Clementine's body, send a group with you, as for you little missy you'll be held captive until you can gaze at the girl you killed. Then I'll end your life" the stranger warned. Sarah had no time to mutter a defence before she was gagged and taken straight back to the main tent in the camp, around 20 other cultists volunteered to join the man who was going to search for Clementine's body. Yet as they gave each other knowing looks, this wasn't about finding the corpse of Clementine at all.

She couldn't be found in the camp, which solidified Sarah's guilt, but some still wanted a body to be shown. Soon the stranger began to slip into their mindset, as he watched where Sarah was tied up as she sobbed helplessly. Yes, he wanted her to suffer to gaze at Clementine's body one last time before he finished off the damn group for good, then his experiment would be complete and he would be satisfied.

Besides, he didn't feel any guilt. It was Sarah's choice to kill Clementine. Not his.

Elsewhere the 20 other cultists set off, as soon as they reached the treeline they took off their skin-suits instantly and threw them to the ground in crumpled heaps. "Okay, we planned this guys. Let's get the hell out of this dump" the leader of this small band of cultists told them all. With a resounding cheer, the downtrodden cult members turned their back on their camp. Never to look back, they were fed up of this.

The next mission they were given, they would flee. That's what they all agreed on this and now that chance was given. They didn't care if Clementine was dead or not. They weren't coming back to give that psychopath a little girl's body and they didn't go back to rescue Sarah. No, they were saving their own skins. The stranger still had faith in them, he was foolish.

They wanted out.

* * *

Clementine lay there, gazing at the sky her body aching in agony, bones broken, breathing was difficult. She was lying next to a cave when she saw two dark figures emerge from the cave. She couldn't identify who they were, all she knew is that she had fallen and rolled down a mountain and was somehow still alive. But in very bad shape, she couldn't move a single bone.

"clem... fuck... it's clem!" someone was saying a world away, as she felt someone scoop her up and carry her back into the cave.

A Cave... Pain... she was overcome with a sudden sense of strong Deja Vu.

"Oh boy, here we go again" she thought to herself before the world went black.


	49. Full Circle

**A/N: "Oh take me back to the start..." Coldplay- The scientist. Love that song and I think this will apply for this chapter, anyway thanks to everyone whose reviewed, followed and Favorited this story. I've made my mind up on how this is going to end now so plans are set in stone, so on with the finale.**

**Also 700 reviews! YESSSSSSSSS! Words cannot express how thankful I am for everyone's support to reach this milestone.**

**Okay addressing reviewers now ffapathy and Kristal Dynamite thanks for pointing out the whole injury thing, as Clem (if this was real) probably would be dead by now. She got shot by Kenny in the stomach (but she had two weeks to recover, either way it would still leave a mark) then she gets shot again by Sarah in the stomach before being pushed of a cliff and falling down a valley. I imagine she rolled down rather than fall vertically but this would still account for a hell of a lot broken bones, added with an open gunshot and bleeding arm... yeah it ain't looking to good for Clem. I will say this, although what the characters survive injuries that would possibly kill them real life, these injuries don't just vanish as I try to make them a continuing problem.**

**The time skip of 2 weeks was used for this purpose as Luke was beaten to hell and If I had him running, jumping, shooting merely a day later it wouldn't come across as that realistic. Two weeks might not be much but it's something, also I imagine Clem and Nick could have a contest about how many bullet wounds can they survive because they both seem to get shot a lot. Anyway back the point, although Clem isn't dead the injury she has suffered will affect her much longer than a few weeks. **

**Just a reminder the first part of this chapter consists of the three dreams Clem had, The one in Chapter 1, one in Chapter 35 and one in Chapter 48.**

* * *

_"In A Cavern, In A Canyon_

_Excavatin' for a mine..."_

Clementine's head felt heavy, the black tendrils of her growing curly jet black hair were drenched in something she couldn't identify, a resounding pounding noise seemed to seep it's way back into her being, as she scrunched her hazel eyes shut once again and tried to remember something...

_"Dwelt A Miner, forty Niner_

_And his daughter Clementine..."_

"Ugh..." she groaned, she could feel the dry vomit seemingly caked at the back of her throat, as she opened her eyes once again. Everything was a blur too her, but things were starting to come into focus, she could see a faint orange tinge along with dancing shadows across her line of vision.

_"Oh My Darling_

_Oh My Darling_

_Oh My Darling Clementine..."_

A noise, somebody was making a noise. Singing? Was it singing? Could she hear her name in the song? Who was singing? She couldn't remember... her head still hurt, yet things above her seemed to sharpen... the orange tinge dulled slightly to reveal a canvas of black and caramel brown above her. Were they rocks?

_"You were lost and gone forever"_

She blinked rapidly, the white noise that had previously filled her ears was ebbing away, she began to become much more aware of her senses now. She was somewhere damp. As well as dried vomit, a copper like substance coated her cheeks, a small droplets of cold sweat ran lines down her face. Leaving clear pathways in the crusty dried blood that had resided in every crease on her skin and clothes.

_"Dreadful sorry Clementine"_

She inhaled sharply, pain ringing through her body and shaking her bones, as she moaned in agony. She couldn't move, she was aching from every bodily pore and there was so much blood. But she wiped the blood onto her cheeks. Why did she do that? Why couldn't she remember anything else? She wiped the blood on her face? And what? And then what...?

_"Soft she was, just like a fairy_

_And her shoes were number nine"_

She was panicking now, somebody was singing. Their war like tone echoed throughout wherever the hell she was. Clementine knew she was in danger. She knew she had to run. Using every inch of her strength she propelled herself to sit upwards, her hand rested on uneven ground, as chips of jutting creamy coloured rocks embedded themselves into her palms.

_"Herring Boxes without Topses_

_Were the shoes for Clementine"_

Her name echoed throughout the space she was in once again. With this in mind, she made a desperate leap to lunge upwards, she managed to stand for a few seconds on her very shaky knees. Her drooping eyelids quickly caught glance of a small amber light that wavered... a fire. A fire! A camp-fire! A quick glance around her... jutting rocks... a low celling, dancing shadows from behind these rocks... a... a... Cave! She was in a cave!

_"Oh My Darling_

_Oh My Darling_

_Oh My Darling Clementine"_

That damn song again! Some completely black silhouette was singing it. Their voice seemed demonic as it floated through the small cave, causing Clementine to shiver on the spot. But not for long... she felt her knees give way below her, as she hit the ground. Hard. She felt more dizzy as the world bobbed in front of her... but she was remembering now... remembering...!

"No, No, No!" Clementine began to scream, her voice croaky, as she heard the soles of shoes scrape across the rocky floor of the cave. She had to get away! She had to move! She tried crawling... but every breath was like swallowing a thousand knives, pure and utter agony. Tears welled in her eyes as sweat and blood leaked through her rags for clothes... the world was going dizzy again...

No! She couldn't die! Not now, but it was too late. Dark silhouettes were surrounding her on every side. She couldn't make out any faces, or any details. But Clementine felt the first tear fall, when one dark hand grabbed her and pulled her back into the depths of the cave.

"Please don't hurt me" she begged futilely to the figures above her. It was no good, she was dead and she knew it.

Before the world went black for the last time, she heard one, last, inhuman reply that chilled her too the bone.

"wERe fRIenDs RIgHt?"

and in the background, the demon continued to sing, and they uttered the final lines to the song

_"You are lost and gone forever_

_Awful Sorry Clementine"_

The world went black.

* * *

"CLEMENTINE! CLEMENTINE STAY DOWN DAMMIT!"

"SHE'S GONNA DIE IF WE DON'T STOP THE BLEEDING, SHE'S REOPENED HER WOUND!

Clementine looked around, she was back in the cave again. The cave from her very first dream, blood coated her cheeks as she had rubbed it on. Why had she rubbed it on again? Why couldn't she remember much? Who were the two black figures in her blurry vision?

They weren't cultists were they? Clementine had seen enough of Cultists especially after...

She gasped as she remembered everything, it hit her like a ton of bricks as..."

She realised she was struggling against whoever was holding her down, however the fight within her still faded as she passed out once again.

* * *

Another damn dream, this time it was more clear than ever she was in a cave. Her whole body was screaming in agony as she stared at the roof of the cave, unblinking watching the shadows to what she knew were a nearby fire dancing along the rocks.

Where was she? What was this place? She thought those thoughts as she remembered this dream, it was just like the last one. The sinister tone of "It's me" being that of Luke. If that was the case what was this dream about? Her thoughts raced in her head rapidly as she tried to remember she had this dream twice now. First it was back in Howe's where someone was singing her a song and the second time she had this dream to people were holding her down because of her wounds and they said she was going to bleed out...

In this dream she could here the murmurs of what sounded like two other people, her body was paralysed as she tried (with all her willpower) to stand up. She couldn't, she was in too much pain. She couldn't move a damn muscle. All she could do was sit there and think... "Think Clementine!" she demanded of herself as she furrowed her brows in concentration.

These dreams weren't normal, they had something to do with this second chance thing, a whole new gift. Not being given a second chance but being given a... a glimpse of things to come. That's what it was, the last time she had this dream she felt a sense of fore-boarding because it was right after she'd been shot by Kenny.

Shot By Kenny.

It hit her. These dreams weren't just a vision into the future they were a warning, they had grown more severe and troubling the further the group went to ruin and now this dream was as vivid as ever. Something very bad was going to happen to her to end up in this state, last time her oldest friend had shot her... and this time... this time.

She choked back a sob as she remembered it all, finally able to lift her head and gaze at the two people around the camp-fire...

Nick and Stephanie.

* * *

Waking up for the fourth time it was then Clementine realised this was no longer a dream. Her flashes of the future had faded her three warnings had played out just as Clementine had dreamt them. They had played out in real life, she was too dazed, too delirious to distinguish reality from dreams in those flashes in which she was awake. But as she gained concious for the fourth time she knew this was no longer a dream, this had happened.

Sarah. Sarah had shot her and pushed her off a cliff. Her best friend had tried to kill her and very nearly succeeded.

"wERe fRIenDs RIgHt?"

The distorted, sound of Sarah's voice taunted her as she lay in that delirious state, the 12 year old could only imagine the "monster" sweet little Sarah had become. That was her nightmare... to think at first she was scared of Sarah simply growing up and kissing Arvo to this? To become the stranger's puppet and fall for his tricks so easily, shooting her on the spot because of the lies he had told her...

It made Clementine's blood boil, even more so that she knew she had been lied too. They both had, Sarah words... she thought she was doing it too protect the babies, she thought she was doing something right. But in those last panic fuelled seconds, Clementine looked the terrified teenager in the eyes. She was scared... confused... the stranger was shouting at her as if she were an enemy as if she wasn't meant to do this. Sarah... Sarah must have been panicked, what she should have done is dropped the gun and apologised for what she did, but would the cult forgive Sarah for shooting Clementine?

Maybe, she hadn't killed Clementine and the stranger's lie would have been revealed. Or maybe it wouldn't have but in those moments Sarah must have snapped. She only saw her own life flash before her eyes as she pushed Clementine off the cliff to get rid of any evidence in a last, desperate attempt to cover her guilt and save her own life. But there was more to it then that, Clementine saw Sarah's face flood with panic when the stranger started shouting at her as he ran closer and closer to her...

Somewhere, deep down. A tiny part of Sarah must have tried to help Clementine to get her away from this. Even if that "way" was stupid and dangerous, she still tried to push Clementine away.

"No, Sarah's not evil, I can still save her. You took Ben, You took Lee, You took Vince, you took Kenny, you're not taking her" Clementine thought angrily to herself, this was her challenge she wasn't letting the stranger win this final battle. No.

But as she tried to lift her head in determination she found herself falling back onto the rocky floor groaning audibly as pain shot through her stomach like knives. Every part of the young girl's body... she couldn't move. Every bone now felt like it weighed a ton and even breathing was painful, no doubt she broke a few ribs on the way down this mountainside, in fact... she was lucky she was alive. Very lucky... yet her body couldn't take anymore wear or tear whether she liked it or not. She couldn't save Sarah in this state.

But... maybe... maybe she could use that brain of her's... her own words, to do what her body couldn't.

"Hey... Clem" came a soft voice, Clementine looked up to find Stephanie's aqua eyes gazing into her own yellow one's, now was the time to start speaking.

"Hey, how long have I been out?" she inquired of the young woman, glad to see a friend returned to her she wondered whether Stephanie had seen what had happened in camp.

"A few hours. It's middle of the night now, you gave us a scare earlier Clementine that bullet wound in your stomach started bleeding heavily and we couldn't stop it. You started struggling so we had to hold you down, thought we'd lost you for a few minutes... but thankfully that wasn't the case. You better not move though, you're stomach is in bad enough shape as it is and I think you managed to break just about every bone your body, or near enough..."

"Great" Clementine croaked, surprised at how croaky her own voice sounded her throat was still so dry.

"Here" Stephanie replied cropping the 12 year old's head on her knees, as if she could sense Clementine's dehydration she placed a bottle of water next to Clementine's lips. The young girl drank greedily as the fluid travelled down her neck and mouth making it more moist and making her feel slightly more refreshed.

"Better" Clementine panted finishing the bottle.

"Good, I hope I'm sorry I woke you up with my singing earlier. Still got my guitar on me and decided to sing an old song with your name in it. It was a grim song but I can't help myself sometimes..." Stephanie was saying lightly to help Clementine feel more comfortable. Or to get her too concentrate on anything other than the pain. Clementine realised the demonic voice she heard singing the song in her first dream was merely Stephanie singing "Oh My Darling Clementine..." which put her a bit more at ease.

It was a grim song to sing, but as Clementine had observed a lifetime ago back at Howe's with those silly film ideas with Gill and Sarah, Stephanie liked to be edgy and dark.

"Hey, you alright?" came another grumble of a question, Nick's head came into view, his piercing blue eyes seemingly dug into Clementine's own, before he asked the question that both he and Stephanie desperately wanted answered.

"We thought you all died, Clem I know you're probably not in the state right now to answer questions right now... but we need to know. Is anyone other than you still alive? Were you up there with that damn cult? How the hell did this happen to you? Who did this...?"

"Nick, let her breathe for a minute,she's only just gotten up" Stephanie reminded him sharply, at her comment Nick merely scoffed and folded his arms over his chest, looking like a sulky teenager in those few seconds.

"No, I need to tell you. You two... you need to save Sarah" Clementine had carefully selected these words and these words had the effect she wished for. Stephanie dropped the empty water bottle she was holding and Nick's arms limply fell to his sides in a strange, sort of shock at realising that Sarah was involved. That Sarah was alive! He dived towards Clementine eager to hear more, going from a sulky teenager to an overexcited schoolboy in a nanosecond.

"She's alive? Is she up there with those fuckers? Is she in trouble...?" Nick asked rapidly without pausing to breathe.

"I... It happened back in the forest me and Sarah were taken back to the camp..." Clementine began her tale, ready to explain it all...

* * *

Clementine didn't leave out a single detail, she explained what the camp looked like, she described the emotions going through her head. She told the raven haired couple every single word she screamed at the stranger...

"Fuckin' hell Clem! Did you want to get yourself killed!? That was fucked up!" Nick exclaimed upon hearing the news.

"I wanted to get even with him, I wanted to make him suffer and he got angry... and he did. I thought you were all dead, I wanted to make him pay and he admitted... he admitted he wanted me with him, more than just to be my new dad..."

"Oh, Jesus. He didn't..." Stephanie began to ask, too horrified to finish the question.

"He tried, but I kicked him where it hurt, he got really mad and said I would join the others and that he would kill me if I didn't comply... so I escaped. I managed to sneak around camp..."

"But are you certain he was lying about the others being dead and roasted on a fire?" Nick interjected.

"Well, they told me you two were dead and here you are and he got mad about the whole Luke thing, so it must have been a bluff. He was lying everyone else must still be out there" Clementine said clearly, the confidence in her voice seemed to reassure Nick and Stephanie who nodded. Before Clementine dived into the worst part of the story.

"But... I came across Sarah. The leader he... he tricked her. Told her that if she killed me he would spare AJ and Lilly who he has apparently got as well. Sarah, she fell for it. But she shot me in the stomach rather than the head. (Stephanie gasped at this point) She was only given one bullet, then the leader runs along trying to make it out as if Sarah was killing me and make her the bad guy. Sarah must have panicked... she pushed me off the cliff. Whether it was too save her skin, or mine I don't know. All I know is that she panicked and she's not a bad person. I can't move but she's up there still, the stranger could be doing God Knows what to her right as we speak! We have to go back for her!" Clementine's story concluded as Nick swore under his breath before turning his back on Clementine and Stephanie.

"That's not fucking true Clem, stop with the fucking bullshit!" he shouted to the opposite wall of the cave.

"Nick, listen to her... please!" Stephanie begged.

"NO I WON'T FUCKING LISTEN ALRIGHT STEF!" Nick exploded, his face redder than it had ever been as he rounded on her, dollops of saliva from Nick's mouth landed on Stephanie's cheeks as he continued to rant on.

"WERE FUCKING MONSTERS ALRIGHT! SHE CAN'T BE ALIVE... SHE...! SHE CAN'T FUCKING SEE ME LIKE THIS! WE'VE KILLED PEOPLE STEF! WE KILLED THOSE CANCER SURVIVORS! WE FUCKING GUTTED THEM LIKE FISH! WE... WE KILLED THAT GUY YESTERDAY AND ATE HIM...! WE'RE OUTCASTS! THAT'S HOW IT'S MEANT TO BE NOW...!"

"YOU ATE SOMEONE!?" Clementine screamed, her voice rising dramatically at this news, the question seemed more directed at Stephanie rather than a seething Nick.

"We... WE THOUGHT THERE WAS NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE ALRIGHT!?" Stephanie answered Clementine while also seemingly shouting this back to Nick "WE WANTED TO HUNT THE CULT DOWN! MAKE THEM PAY FOR WHAT THEY DID! JUST LIKE YOU CLEM... BUT... WE'RE MONSTERS NOW! WE MIGHT AS WELL EMBRACE IT...!"

"I CAN'T FUCKING TELL SARAH I'VE EATEN PEOPLE! YOU KNOW THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT...!" Nick roared at Stephanie.

"MY FUCKING FAULT! YOU KILLED THAT GUY!" Stephanie bellowed back with the force of a hurricane

"YOU MADE ME! YOU MADE ME THIS WAY! YOU BROUGHT THE CULT TO US IN THE FIRST PLACE! IT'S YOUR SORRY ASS I HAD TO SAVE FROM THOSE CANCER SURVIVORS! IT WAS YOU WHO FUCKING CRASHED THE TRUCK! YOU'VE BEEN FUCKING US OVER SINCE DAY ONE STEF! AND YOU CONVINCED ME TO BE A FUCKING MONSTER WITH YOU! WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST FUCKING LET ME DIE...!?"

"BECAUSE OF THIS! SARAH'S ALIVE NICK! YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR NOW! WE CAN'T FUCKING GIVE UP! NOT NOW!"

"THAT'S EASY FOR YOU TO SAY! IT ALWAYS HAS BEEN!? HASN'T IT? ALWAYS RUNNING AWAY, NEVER KNOWING WHAT IT'S LIKE TO LOSE PEOPLE YOU REALLY CARE ABOUT...!"

"YOU KNOW WHAT NICK! I AM THE WAY I AM BECAUSE I'VE LOST PEOPLE I REALLY CARE ABOUT! DON'T YOU FUCKING ACCUSE ME OF THAT! YOU FUCKING IDIOT I'M ALWAYS WIPING YOUR ASS AND LOOKING AFTER YOU, YOU'RE A GROWN MAN STOP ACTING LIKE A SISSY AND MAN UP!"

"MAN THE FUCK UP! FUCK OFF STEF! FUCK OFF RIGHT NOW! ALL I'VE EVER DONE IS MAN UP AND TRY TO MAKE THE RIGHT DECISIONS! ALL MY FUCKING LIFE I'VE BEEN TOLD TO MAN THE FUCK UP! I CAN'T... I'M NOT BUILT LIKE THAT! ALRIGHT!? IT'S THAT WHAT YOU FUCKING WANT TO HEAR!? I CAN'T SEE SARAH AGAIN! I FUCKING CAN'T ALRIGHT! I'LL KILL MYSELF RIGHT HERE AND NOW..."

"DON'T FUCKING LEAVE ME! WERE MONSTERS TOGETHER... YOU PROMISED ME...!"

"GO DIE AS A FUCKING MONSTER STEF! I'M DONE WITH THIS SHIT! GO ON AND FUCK OFF RIGHT NOW...!" Nick demanded of the brunette woman.

Clementine sat stunned at the explosive argument that had erupted between the pair, she watched as (in her rage) Stephanie whipped on her heel and prepared to walk out of the cave...

"You know Stef, the first time you left us that's when you became a real monster. You were the only survivor in Luke's pre-life and I believe him, I believe you left me, Rebecca and Luke to die. Sarah needs you, she needs both of you. You're not a monster Stef, if you leave you are. You have no idea how much you're needed right now" Clementine spoke to the raven haired woman, she turned around and looked Clementine in the eyes.

"I'll just end up messing things up, if I stay" she mumbled sadly.

"So does everyone, I'm begging you. Stay." Clementine requested.

Stephanie gulped her next words were barely audible, but looking at a silently fuming Nick and injured Clementine she managed to utter "But... it's so hard..." Roman's words. His old words... they applied now more than ever. Roman had tried his damn hardest to maintain his humanity, yet in a way they could become monsters. It stopped Nick from committing suicide, but... what was the point? It was another selfish move they couldn't descend into madness like that man (Nate) had done. No, the cult wanted to break them if they wanted to truly beat the cult...

"N-Nick... I'm sorry. But W-we have to go back f-for Sarah. There's still hope for us" Stephanie told him, as he blankly gazed back at her.

"I... I... I can't" Nick said his voice trembling.

"No Nick it's hard. I know it's hard alright? It's hard to kill some old people, or beat a teenager to death all for the sake of protecting the group. But it's even harder trying to do what's right. You're afraid of how Sarah will react too you, I am too. But she needs us both Nick, it can be done. Don't give up, don't leave me and I won't leave you" Stephanie spoke clearly, there weren't any tears as Nick slowly walked over to Stephanie and embraced her tightly.

"I'm sorry" Nick mumbled into her shoulder, a sorry that was returned as they stood there. Not wanting to let go of one another, Clementine was starting to find it somewhat awkward to watch the pair of them. Thankfully salvation arrived as a voice flew across the cave...

"Jeez talk about a married couple already. Screaming the one minute and hugging the next"

"Molly!" Clementine exclaimed in joy as the blonde woman poked her head into the cave and muttered a very southern "Howdy do" to the trio inside. Behind Molly was the hulking figure of a man Clementine had always wanted to see.

"You came back" Clementine mused to Luke.

He smiled down at her, "I don't break a promise Clem" was all he said.

* * *

Nick and Stephanie were all for telling Luke and Molly the whole story, but they were in for a shock.

"We heard it all, we were listening outside. Were up to date. Clem's injured, you two have issues and have eaten people and are monsters then you're not... blah... blah... Sarah shot Clem, Clem made some messed up stuff about her and Luke, blah blah... Sarah got Clem into this state. So when are we saving Sarah then?" Molly asked of the gawking trio of Nick, Stephanie and Clementine.

"You just sat outside listening? You didn't come in to intervene?" Nick snapped at Luke.

"We wanted you guys to sort it out yourselves. Besides Nick you're right, you ain't a little boy, not anymore. I wanna look out for you but some things you just need to face yourself" Luke told his best friend wisely, Nick and Luke had supported each other but looking back on it Nick was glad Luke didn't interfere this time. He had to sort out his relationship with Stephanie, he had to stop being sheltered by Luke in the way Carlos had sheltered Sarah.

"Well, thanks man" was all Nick could say, it sounded sarcastic, although that wasn't Nick's intention. Luckily for him no one overheard his words as Clementine asked "So where have you two been? Have you seen Rebecca, Eddie and the kids?"

Molly narrated their version of events, Luke told Rebecca to run and her and Eddie should have been at Wellington by now with the kids (if they were lucky) Molly and Luke met up and managed to escape the cult and had been trailing them back to their camp. Finding it Molly had heard a gunshot and proceeded to investigate only to find the cultists dragging Sarah off back to the main tent. (She purposefully avoided the detail of seeing Clementine get shot and be pushed off the cliff. She knew how Luke would react, he would lose it. Especially just after he started looking out for himself as well he would go mad with guilt). She awoke Luke told him of Sarah's capture.

The two decided to find a way to sneak into camp and decided to look down the mountainside for a way in the camp from the side, when they "stumbled" upon this cave. Molly knew the risk of leading Luke this way and the chances of coming across Clementine's corpse, yet a gut feeling had told Molly that she had survived the fall and she was right. So they overheard the news before Luke couldn't hold it in anymore and he had to run in to see Clementine.

"If I'd have just gotten there earlier, I could have done something. Molly only got there just as Sarah was being dragged away... we... if we kept movin'... If only I didn't have that damn break..." Luke was still fussing and whining in a way that Molly could easily predict. Sighing she turned to Clementine for reassurance.

"For the love of God Clem, he'll listen to you. Tell him that he needs his sleep and that he needs to look after himself" she begged of the 12 year old.

"Yeah, she is right Luke" Clementine said clearly to shut up a fussing Luke "You're a good guy Luke, you've made mistakes but so has everyone, you... I don't want to see you die in some stupid way"

Luke looked touched for a second as he muttered back "Well... thanks.. thanks Clem..."

They spoke for another few minutes mainly about Nick and Stephanie's cannibalistic side coming to light, shamed by what they had done Nick and Stephanie were embarrassed to speak about it but Luke's "It's fine Nick. Listen, the pair of you. It doesn't matter, like Clem said we all make mistakes there's a girl in that camp who needs us and we are gonna go and save her!" these motivational words caused cheers all around as Luke flushed with pride.

"Well, it looks like our rightful leader is finally back" Stephanie announced.

All eyes rested on Luke, as he coughed and rubbed a spot on his neck, mumbling "Well... yeah I might be leader. Great Job I've done with the group though. Outta around twenty of us only four are probably at Wellington and that's a probably. One of us is captive of the cult, 5 of us are here and defiantly alive and one of those 5 is beaten to shit. I appericate what y'all tryin' to do, but... I... I don't think I'm fit for this" Luke told them all clearly.

"Luke" Clementine said.

"Yeah" he responded.

"Just take a second, look at whose in front of you. You helped create that. Yeah we're thin on numbers, but we've all made it this far thanks to you, you stopped Vince, you made that deal with the cult and still got the kids out of this mess. Luke, you're our leader this is what you've created" Clementine indicated the group around her, Luke's stared at one person from the next, before he inhaled and his eyes locked with Clementine''s.

"No, what _we_ helped create" he corrected her.

"Look this is touching and all, but now that we're reunited and we all love each other and all that crap. Can we go kick some ass now? Save Sarah, run outta camp before it explodes somehow and ride off into the sunset just like they do in the movies" Molly said to the four people around her as Nick nodded vigorously.

"Yeah, come on guys it's time we ran in there, grabbed Sarah and..."

"Whoa, cool your jets there Nick. We can't just run in like that, we might escape but it will be a bloodbath. We need to sit down and plan this..." Luke reasoned.

"Plan!? Luke are you fucking nuts? They could be torturing Sarah right now! We need to go as soon as we can!" Nick shouted back.

"No, we need a plan, I'm with Luke here" Molly disagreed with Nick's point (mainly just to see him get angrier, but also because it was the better more logical route to take in this situation).

"I won't be able to do much good, I can't move" Clementine stated sadly as Luke merely grinned.

"Don't you worry about that Clem. It might take a while but if you can still feel pain in your legs I'm sure you'll still be able to walk again one day. It might take a while to recover and I mean a while... but I'm makin' sure were all gonna be alive to see it. All of us, Rebecca, Eddie and the kids too. No one else. No one else is dying, we've lost far too many people already. We're all gonna make it through this" Luke promised.

"How? and what's the plan here Luke?" Stephanie asked in doubt, she was certain there was going to be deaths ahead.

"How have we gotten this far? All of us? We must have something others didn't have to be here. Even if others gave up their lives to save our's..." Upon these words Clementine thought of Lee, Nick thought of Lilly, Luke himself thought of Jane, Bonnie's death was also still fresh in his memory and made him grieve but he knew he would grieve properly afterwards, for now he needed to keep Clementine safe and to ensure that the "plan" would be successful. With this in mind, he kept speaking...

"... they didn't save our lives for nothing. There was something about us, something they loved about us. They wanted us too live on, they knew we would. We'd grieve but we'd move on, were all strong here" he paused there before looking at the group one by one.

"Molly, you're strong, you're smart. You're an expert at parkour and speak some common sense than all of us here combined. You've survived on your own for so long now. Stef, you weren't the only survivor in my pre-life for nothing, you're a survivalist and the best damn thief I've ever seen that skill could come in handy when were at the camp. Nick, man... you helped Sarah through this shit. You survived God knows how many bullets and you're still here and you always try and do the right thing. Clem... I think I've told you all you need to know before, with your words alone you'll be an asset to us"

The grinning group members gathered round, Luke had assessed all of their skills. He knew their strong points and weak points and he knew where Sarah was located in the camp. He drew a deep breath...

"Alright guys, here's the plan..."


	50. You Win Or You Die

**A/N: Okay here we go, Chapter 50! The final conflict in this story will all go down this chapter, who will die? Who will live? Read on to find out. Also my daily dosage of game of thrones is thrown in this chapter (as seen by the title) I can't help it I pumped for season 5! **

**Also a new poll is open on my profile, with the choices in Going To Ruin? Their are more whooping 15 choices to make and remember to pick one answer on each decision.**

**For example...**

**There should be a number in front of every decision, for instance they'll be two 5's (5- Should you have killed...? or 5- Should you have spared...?) you can chose one for every numbered question. If you get what I'm saying, it's confusing I know but carefully select only one answer to every numbered question and I should end up with 15 answers to decisions in this story. **

**Statistics should be a massive help on how I write the final 2 chapters and maybe beyond... (still unsure of whether or not I'll make this Second Chance Series a trilogy, even if I do it will take a while to get set up, as I want to explore and write other fan-fiction genres my interest in the walking dead is high, but I'm starting to run out of steam so I figure a break is needed).**

**Okay thank you all for supporting me for this long and leaving your reviews and now... on with the chapter!**

* * *

Sarah simply stood rigid, her back pressed up against the chipped wooden pole behind her, strings of skin and rope binded her skinny form to the pole. Her legs, torso and mouth were all tightly wrapped around so she was unable to move a single muscle. In the main tent the menacing form of the stranger lingered around like an unwanted fly, no other cultists resided in this large tent, the stranger himself was gazing deeply into a small fire flickering in the centre of the tent.

"It's all I see, fire" the stranger mused, breaking the long silence between him and Sarah. Sarah herself couldn't speak a word. Never had she felt so much hatred for someone who had tricked her into shooting her best friend, she couldn't do anything to showcase her anger however as her mouth was gagged and she could only mumble into it and shoot the stranger daggers from her brown eyes. He wasn't looking at her so this made no difference.

"Everything burns, everything gets destroyed that's what fire does Sarah, that's what people do. That's all they'll continue to do... until..." the stranger paused there dramatically lifting himself from the ground he didn't glance at Sarah once. Even though he had just openly acknowledged that he was addressing her. Now standing tall the stranger used the sole of his boot to violently stamp the fire out.

"... until the fire gets put out. You think it's inhumane what I've done. But I just want to stop the fire" he muttered down to the black ashes on the floor of the tent. Well it wasn't a tent more like a hut of sticks with a muddy floor but it was cosy inside. Or at least it was meant to be, facing a murderer and tied up uncomfortably... no this wasn't cosy at all.

"I'm putting the fire out Sarah. You know it. You could have still tried to escape with Clementine but it was your choice to kill her. It's okay..." he murmured softly suddenly turning to Sarah. His green eyes reminded Sarah of William Carver as she felt shivers fly up her spine, he approached and used a pale hand to stroke her face. She shuddered at his touch but she couldn't slap him away.

"There... there... it's okay. It will better if you die, I can make it quick. You know I can end all this pain and suffering so easily. In just a few short hours Sarah it will be over. Both you and I will have peace!" he sounded excited, an detail that made Sarah want to vomit. Yet she couldn't, he had lied... but he was also telling the truth, it was her choice.

She fell for the stranger's tricks, she shot Clementine and pushed her over the edge of the cliff. Why? She didn't know in those seconds she panicked completely killing all that was left of her group. Now, now she had no fight within her, the stranger was right. He was putting out the fire and Sarah would simply have suck it up and be brave. Hopefully she'd see them all again, Nick, Clementine, her daddy and they wouldn't be mad with her.

Thinking about them caused tears to roll down Sarah's face, they would be mad with her. Maybe she'd never see them again maybe she'd go to hell. She left Alex to die and now she'd killed Clementine all because she was so stupid and trusting...

_"Your attitude is going to get you killed!" _

Marisol's words rang true now, she always trusted the group. But they betrayed her, they turned into savages and now it seemed the stranger had killed them all except for Clementine. That was her kill. But her attitude had made her too trusting of this stranger, she volunteered to go with Clementine and Molly to check on Luke and Bonnie and she lost an arm because of that.

Her whole personality, it was always going to end like this. She came back for the others, she still had faith in people unlike this stranger who saw evil in everyone. Now that faith was ebbing away from her, she prayed for some miracle that her group would come back to save her somehow. But they were dead, she was left alone to rot and die a bad person.

"You'll die alone here Sarah. Unloved, unwanted and a monster. But at least it proves my point" was all the stranger had to say when he spotted Sarah's clear tears. A minute after these words left his mouth he exited the tent.

Leaving Sarah to cry ever harder and wallow in her grief and sorrow.

* * *

"HOW!?"

The cultist did not see it coming at all, one minute he was simply standing on guard and then the next minute a bellow from the bushes had caught his attention, he looked at his colleagues in curiosity who all looked back at him with just as confused expressions.

"YOU! YOU... FUCKING ASSHOLE! YOU PIECE OF SHIT LUKE!" Came a woman's furious bellow, some of the cultists froze in place upon hearing his name. They knew full well they had faked Luke's and the others deaths and if they're leader found out about this...

"Fuck, we have to wipe them out! Now!" A cultist yelled in sheer panic.

"Someone make sure our fucking leader stays in his tent! We can't risk hearing this!" another cultist demanded giving out a very clear set of instructions which only two people scurried off to obey, the rest of the cult crept forwards to deal with this problem.

"MOLLY I AM SO SORRY! I CAN EXPLAIN MYSELF I HONESTLY CAN...!" Luke screamed back.

The cultists gazed at the scene from where they were concealed in the bushes.

Luke stood there, trousers and boxers down. A red faced Molly was full clothed as the shamed Luke tried stuttering something to her that she angrily blew back in his face. The cultists readied their guns but one member simply muttered "Stop" in an assertive tone in which all guns were returned to waist level.

"Sir...?" a young cultist asked of the older, more stern man.

"No, they don't know were here. They wouldn't be this stupid to start an argument here, this is the real deal young un' you'll see here why our ideals are right" an evil look was glistening in the elder man's beady black eyes behind his weathered skin suit, the younger man looked less certain and gulped as he continued to watch the scene before him regardless.

"I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME! BUT... I SHOULD KILL YOU LUKE! I SHOULD KILL YOU RIGHT FUCKING NOW!" Molly screamed as her old icepick found itself wedged near to Luke's throat. He gulped nervously as tears welled in his brown eyes as he begged "Please... Molly I am begging you..."

"Now this is what were all about. Idiots, they can't function if they're not us" one particular arrogant cultist commented, clearly enjoying the show right before his very eyes.

"That Luke dude was always a fucking idiot when we watched him. I told you he was a sexual predator, I bet he raped another girl" an older woman gossiped to a younger one, she nodded her head as she gazed longingly at Luke's private parts a giddy smile spreading from beneath her skin suit.

"I know his scum... but he is so good looking" she told the older woman dreamily, as the older woman merely scoffed.

"I hope he manages to rape her too. Proves his good for nothing and we'll get a bit of eye candy" one thuggish man muttered with hope intertwined in his tone, a few men around him nodded in agreement.

"You guys are gross, be quiet by the way or there won't be anything to see at all" another woman stepped in next to the watching cult. Standing next to the older black eyed man as she yelled those things over to the thuggish men to her left, they merely shrugged at her words.

"NO!" Luke roared, he startled Molly by managing to punch her straight across the face, an audible crack echoed throughout the clearing as the cultists "ooohed" in surprise and leaned in closer, Molly quickly used her icepick to slice at Luke's face it cut open the skin on his cheek. Luke grunted at pain due to his new wound but quickly managed to pin a weaker Molly to the ground as her weapon was thrown out of reach.

"WHY DID YOU FUCK A CORPSE LUKE! YOU FUCKING ANIMAL!" Molly screamed at him, openly spitting in Luke's face but the southern man did not flinch at this. Instead he only pinned Molly down using his strength as she kicked feebly against him.

"Who!? Who the hell did he rape now? and a corpse!? He raped a fucking corpse! that is fucked up, I am so glad to be here now" the younger cultist from earlier spoke up again.

"Yeah it is boy, see, finally glad you're understanding how we work" the older black eyed man muttered from next to him. Yet his black eyes didn't revert to the younger cultist, they were completely trained on the scene ahead of him. Each cultist was transfixed by what they saw, some male's actually leant in closer begging under their breath that Luke would managed to rip the clothes of a struggling Molly. It seemed like he was going too...

"I'm gonna head back to camp to make sure the leader doesn't see this" the woman next to the older man said.

"Yeah, you do that" the older man told her, not even looking in her direction. The woman scurried off, the rest of cult were watching the show, transfixed... their guards completely down.

The woman who ran off to go to the leader, stopped as she passed a tent. Smiling in the skin suit she managed to steal, the keys to one of the trucks that she saw on the older man's waist was now dangling in her flaky fingers.

* * *

The camp was eerily empty, either everybody was either with the cult leader in the tent with Sarah, or out watching the "show" in the nearby bushes. In the camp itself a woman walked causally towards the trucks, passing a man in a skin suit who was carrying a large hunk of meat, bones and flesh the man held in his fingers and a child-sized bundle of bloody flesh.

The man and the woman walked past each other, two pairs of blue eyes met underneath the skin suits. The woman nodded at the man as he nodded back before they proceeded onwards. Both with a dreaded feeling in their stomach's both longed to see each other again or at least touch each other. But that wasn't possible, not yet. The plan was not finished yet.

The man continued to walk on passing past tents nervously, a growing sweat developing on his forehead as he slowly navigated towards the largest one in the centre.

* * *

"NOOOOOO!"

Molly screamed as Luke managed to peel her hoodie off her and rip off her bra, revealing her bare breasts to the delighted audience secretly watching from the bushes. Luke himself peeled off his own top, making a few female cultists flush as they leant in too observe this soap opera in a wicked delight.

"HOW! SHE WAS A LITTLE GIRL LUKE! I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME! BUT YOU WERE FUCKING HER CORPSE! AT THE BOTTOM OF THAT VALLEY! I KNEW THEN... THAT... THAT...!" Molly was unable to finish as she gulped and let a few crocodile tears roll from her blue eyes. Careful not to look at the bushes, they had to make this as authentic as possible. Due to the fact they had not been shot yet it must have been working.

"SHE SEDUCED ME! I WAS HAVING SEX WITH CLEM THE WHOLE TIME MOLLY! I KNOW I SAID I LOVED YOU MOLLY BUT... SHE WAS ALWAYS FIRST...!"

"That fucking pedo! Our leader was right! I should have known!" one cultist made his opinion known.

"Still these two idiots managed to find the little girl's corpse before our own cult. I wonder where they've gone anyway, they've been gone for hours now" one cultist wondered to herself, yet another woman overheard her thoughts.

"Probably got lost, they are helpless bunch after all" she said dryly.

"STOP SCREAMIN' MOLLY! I... I CAN MAKE THIS RIGHT! I CAN LOVE YOU AGAIN...!"

"BY FORCING YOURSELF ON ME! THAT'S YOUR IDEA OF LOVE!? THAT'S...!" Molly was ranting, while Luke's bare back gleamed with sweat. They had planned out this scenario so well, but still he was nearing the ends of things he could do before the cultists would finally start get bored of their "show". Him and Molly staging this argument so close to where they knew the camp was located. Of course it was going to draw interest and distract some cult members. Making it easier for Stephanie to steal the keys to one of the trucks from a high ranking cultist, they had made their "observations" and now he was waiting for Nick's signal and his part of the plan to come to light.

"Come on Nick, I'm running outta time here" Luke thought to himself nervously, he was already nude as it was and he didn't want too... actually force himself on Molly. It was traumatic enough for both of them at this stage anyway.

* * *

With a baited breath Nick entered the tent.

He saw them, Sarah laid on the pole her eyes downcast, new glasses lying next to her. The leader of the cult with two other members flanking him, all eyes looked up at him as he entered the tent with the pile of meat. In a different, lower pitched voice than his usual dialect Nick mumbled "Found the girl sir, here she is. You two better come outside with me, and we'll gather the rest of the camp here to wittiness the Sarah's execution" he gestured towards Sarah. As more tears fell from her eyes, she could smell the horrid stench emitting from what she knew was Clementine's corpse but she didn't dare look in that direction.

"Excellent work. You two go outside and call the rest of the camp" the stranger instructed the two people next to him instantly obeyed his command and followed Nick out of the tent.

"Now..." The stranger said, he lifted the bloody hunk of meat that was Clementine. Yep he could see her tiny form clearly blood splattered, absolutely everywhere on the young African american girl. She was wearing the same clothes that the stranger last saw her in and her face look battered added to the fact she wasn't breathing. The satisfied Stranger forced Clementine's corpse under Sarah's nose, Sarah saw her old friend lying there and her world collapsed as she screamed into her gag and more tears leaked from her eyes.

"Yes, now you've seen what you done, you see what you really are" the stranger taunted the teenager with. This dead 12 year old he wasn't responsible for this, it was Sarah's fault. He had every right to kill her now...

He was lost in his own thoughts, he didn't notice the faint choking noises coming from outside.

Nick's hands were coated in blood, the knife he had on him was also drenched in the crimson liquid as he had to act fast. He managed to silt both of the cultists necks within seconds. Before they could even resist they lay dead and choking on their own blood on the floor. Nick thanked whoever was watching over him for his luck so far. He knew Luke's ploy would distract the cult, but distract this many? He knew the cult were faking their deaths to appease their leader, so it was obvious they'd send some people to the cult leader to ensure he stayed in his tent, but seriously only two? He was expecting more.

That risky part of the plan was out of the way, Luke and Molly's act was probably starting to grow thin now... he wiped his brow. There weren't any other cultists around to witness this murder. That he was thankful for, Nick always imagined by this point the plan would go to shit and he'd blow into the horn and he'd try and grab Sarah in the madness. But it was still ongoing, they had made back-up plans in case something went wrong but so far Plan A had stayed intact due to a great amount of luck and logic on Luke's part.

Approaching one of the large horns that the cult had in their possession, Nick lifted the heavy thing and blew into it.

This was the signal.

Clementine lay there, awaiting the sound of the horn as Sarah's tears splashed on her blood drenched cheeks.

Stephanie was behind the wheel of the truck she had used the key to break into too. Her hands clutching the steering wheel and her foot near to the pedal. Ready to start to the truck the instant the horn was heard.

Luke and Molly continued to struggle as their "argument" played out, both of them awaiting desperately for the signal.

The four of them heard it at the exact same time.

"Ah Good, they should all be coming now" the stranger mused to himself.

* * *

"What the hell?" a cultist snapped gazing back into camp as the long, resounding sound of the horn drew all attention.

"LUKE! THE CULT! THEIR AROUND HERE THEY'VE PROBABLY HEARD YOU SHOUTING!" Molly bellowed, they couldn't pretend they didn't hear the sound of the horn and they had to act as natural as possible.

"MAYBE... MAYBE THEIR AFTER SOMEONE ELSE! EITHER THOUGHT OF THAT MOLLY!?" Luke roared continuing to play his part. The cultists watching seemed torn,between going back to cam and staying to see the show. yet the old man with the black eyes couldn't resist not any more. "Okay guys, let's clean up here and head on back to camp, we've seen enough of this to know what they are" he was met with several murmurs of agreement.

He fired a shot into the air, causing Luke and Molly to whip their heads up in surprise as the large majority of the cult seemingly appeared from out of the bushes, they feigned a look of shock with Molly muttering "Shit!" as they stumbled backwards and struggled to put their clothes back on, the older man leading the cultists merely laughed at their pathetic attempt to escape as he lifted his own gun and announced "Stay where you are! Try and run and you'll be shot!"

They froze in place, the pair of them managing to peel their clothes back on.

"You may as well take them again, we saw everything. We saw what you people have become" the older man told a white faced Luke, the cult were in power here. They confidently readied their guns to completely rid the world of these two disgraces of people, Luke had done such horrible things and even though Molly was a victim she... she was with them. She had tried to help them, that was a crime within itself, a massive one at that.

"Well that's it then. Game over." Luke mumbled sadly his head dipping, Molly followed his lead the older man laughed in a sinister manner at this victory.

"Yep! Game over boy! Your sick mind games are over! You see!? You tried to play the game with us, but in this game you win or you die, you've lost!" he proclaimed to the cheering cult, yet it was then the old man noticed that Luke was grinning and Molly was holding her hand to her mouth to stop herself from laughing.

"What? Is something funny?" the old man growled, he was seconds away from firing.

"You're right you win or you die sir, but you don't seem to realise... That eventually every bad guy always loses in some way... you've already lost. We lost in the past because you made us the bad guys. But did you really think we'd start an argument this close to your camp for no reason? To get you watching? What sick, evil fucks watch an argument like that and take joy from it? You've been making us the bad guys, now we've done the same too you. _You lose."_

Luke lifted his head at these final two words, now it was his time to smile confidently he only muttered these words of honesty because he heard the distant sounds of tyres rolling over undergrowth and the faint hum of a rapidly approaching engine. The old man's black eyes widened as he turned far too late, one of their black trucks seemingly exploded into view, there was no time to move.

Luke and Molly leapt back as the cult looked on in horror, some ready to fire but the shock of seeing the truck travelling at such a speed towards them... it prevented them from firing for a few seconds and these few seconds cost them their lives. Stephanie bulldozed over the shocked cultists bouncing violently up and down in her seat as cultists bounced of the windscreen and onto the ground behind her. Either they went under the wheel and met gory ends or ended up behind the truck after bouncing of the windscreen with broken bones and twisted bodies.

"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK! SHOOT IT...!" A woman roared before she was silence as a bullet pierced through her skull.

Molly and Luke had managed to dive behind some nearby trees, Molly had hidden two guns (an assault rifle and a lethal pistol) in her trousers, that's why the argument between her and Luke could only go up to the stage in which she wasn't completely naked. So they could pull out these surprise weapons and kick some serious ass. She got the assault rifle while Luke fired away using the pistol, picking off the cultists that prepared to fire at the truck. They all seemed determined to destroy the thing, as Stephanie violently pushed on the pedal, as the truck screeched to a halt in the snow.

Molly and Luke wasted no time, (this was another risky part of the plan) as they ran into the fray firing at whoever approached the stationery truck. Cultists fell left and right in the madness. Luke felt a few bullets whizz past his shoulders but amazingly none of them found themselves embedded in his flesh. Ploughing on he pulled open the front door to the truck, seeing her two allies already clambering into the truck Stephanie had already started the engine once again as Molly slammed the door shut behind her.

"Right, time to go to camp!" Stephanie exclaimed as the remaining cultists continued to fire at their own truck.

"SHOOT THE TYRES! SHOOT THE FUCKING TYRES!" A man was bellowing to weaker willed members of the cult. Some had fled in a panic, others fired blindly not expecting to hit anything. The truck was barely sustaining any damage anyway and it was all the cult's fault.

They had put reinforced glass on the windscreen and windows of the truck, although bullets left cracks in the glass it would take several bullets to make it shatter.

and the tyres were covered by a protective layer of plastic, also put on by the cult to avoid them being deflated by rogue bandits and stray bullets.

Now all of this was being used against them, they fired on but they watched helplessly as the truck accelerated from out of the clearing and towards their camp, some of the cult fled the scene completely. Losing their heads at the sudden assault, others that survived trailed the truck back towards the camp yet they couldn't keep up with the truck.

Inside of it, a panting Molly and Luke glanced at each other.

"You're... you're crazy plan is actually working Luke, not one of us has been shot either so It's going even better than I imagined" Molly mused in disbelieving delight as Luke merely laughed in relief at his complex plan actually working. Before his face became grim once again, with most of the cult out of the way it was now on for the final objective.

Rescuing Sarah.

* * *

At the sound of the horn going off Clementine knew it was her time, she had to brave so with a deep breath she leapt from the stranger's arms. He yelped in shock as Clementine's teeth dug into his arm, she was biting him so hard that blood leaked from under his real skin (the walker skin tasted horrible on her tongue) snarling a swear word at the 12 year old the stranger dropped her violently to the floor, feeling the wind get knocked out of her Clementine screamed in pain. The furious stranger got his gun at the ready as Sarah tried screaming into her gag in disbelief, trying to break free of her restraints to help her friend who... who was now alive! Her heart hammered in terror as the stranger easily held Clementine at gunpoint.

"Clementine, my darling Clementine. How did we come to this?" the stranger muttered sadly shaking his head in sorrow. Clementine merely glared back up at him.

"You are going to die here Clementine, I don't know how you survived that fall from the cliff. But I'm going to end this right now" the stranger told her with a cold tone. Clementine gulped trying to keep her cool, as she finally found her voice through her agony.

"A... a wise friend of mine once told me... that... that... friends always come back for one another" her and Sarah locked eyes as these words left the younger girls mouth, the stranger laughed at her child-like and corny phrase as he harshly told her "Is that it? Those are your last words? So what? You came back for Sarah in this state? You really are stupid just like your rest of your dead group. You were all monsters and you'll die that way" The stranger's damming verdict only made Clementine smile.

"You... you just described yourself perfectly and didn't you listen to me? I said _friends_ come back for each other" Clementine said clearly looking at Sarah who instantly got the message. The plural "friends" and not "friend" was something the stranger picked up on as well, as his pulse raced he turned from where Clementine helplessly lay on the floor and whipped around towards the entrance but he was too late.

Nick had already fired.

The raven haired man entered the tent just in time, his bullet was hasty but landed in the stranger's shoulder causing the leader of the cult to roar in pain as blood spurted from his wound, collapsing in agony he dropped his gun next to Clementine who managed to scoop it up (through her own pain). Sarah stared in disbelief at her saviour... a cultist? Why would one of those skin suited freaks save her? But the man seemingly did so as he walked on over to where Sarah was tied up and slowly began to cut through the ropes and skin holding her in place. Using a bloodied knife to cut through these restraints.

Releasing the gag from her mouth Sarah finally managed to gulp down some fresh air as she was able to speak again. She looked at the the man in the skin suit.

"W-w-who are y-you?" she asked her voice trembling horribly.

"Ah come on Sarah, you give up on me that easily" came a familiar voice.

Sarah blinked in disbelief, it couldn't be! He was dead! Yet the man peeled off the head of his skin suit, revealing the face of Nick. She rubbed her eyes, not blinking as she absorbed her old friend's image. She then noticed Nick holding out something for her, it was her glasses. She slid them back on as a sharper and much more clear image of Nick swam in her vision.

"There, we found you glasses" he told her with a small smile.

It was this that made the real waterworks flow, Sarah felt her body heave with loud sobs as she crashed into Nick. Wrapping her arms (well her single arm) around his form as she cried onto his shoulder. Nick merely patted her back as she moaned to him "YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT ME! WHY DID YOU DO ALL OF THAT FOR ME!? YOU COULD HAVE BEEN SHOT! YOU IDIOT! I NEARLY KILLED CLEMENTINE... WHY...!?"

"I've.. I've done bad things as well Sarah. Me and Stef we wanted revenge on the cult because we thought you were dead, so we killed one member and then we ate him" Nick muttered on monotone as Sarah gazed at him in horror. Remembering Clementine's tales of the St. John's eating people and then in Luke's second chance where the group had eventually resorting to cannibalism. Nick had done a horrible, horrible thing, but then again so had she...

"I... I forgive you Nick. And I want to thank you.. thank you for coming back, back for stupid me. The world would probably be better off without me..." Sarah began still sobbing as Nick tried to shush the emotional teenager.

"Sarah, you're worth more than the whole fucking cult combined. I'd be willing to face them all to see you again, now come on were heading on out of here" Nick told her, helping to steady her on her shaky feet.

"Pah! Fuck you all! You're worth nothing Sarah! My cult is worth hundreds of you... you... fuckin' common... monsters!" the stranger spat from where he was huddled in the corner. Nick tried to push Sarah away, but she resisted his hand as she strode straight on up to where the stranger cowered in agony and leant down to address him.

"You'll die alone here. Unloved, unwanted and a monster. But at least it proves who the real monster is" Sarah told him coldly, the stranger leered up at her.

"Me, the monster! I led a cult...!" he began.

"A cult. Where are they now huh? They haven't come back for you, they were never your friends you tried to break us but you failed because no matter what you did to us. We always came back for each other, the real villains always lose in the end. It happened to Carver, it happened to Vince and now... it's your turn" Were Sarah's concluding words proud to take revenge on the man who had taunted and lied to her, his face fell as the teenager headed on back towards Nick.

"Hey! Get back here! You can't leave me like this...!" the stranger's tough guy was cracking, in the same way his instructions and words had broken down the group he had observed for so long. It was true. None of his group were coming back for him, this caused a few tears to roll from his eyes a few words from a weak fucking teenager had reduced him too this?

"No, we can't. You're right" Clementine croaked, her throat dry as she raised her gun as the stranger's eyes seemingly popped out of his head in a panic.

"It was a mistake I made last time, If I hadn't spared you none of this would have happened. These deaths, these second chances. It all ends here" Clementine told the panicking stranger.

"Clementine... this is the same as last time! Give me another chance! FUCKING LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME ALRIGHT!? I'M FUCKING BROKEN!" The stranger roared breaking into pitiful tears, his final, true, pathetic form coming to the surface "ONLY A TRUE MOTHER-FUCKING MONSTER WOULD KILL ME NOW! THE SECOND CHANCE WAS YOUR MIRACLE CLEMENTINE! KEEP ME ALIVE! IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO...!"

"Is it?" Clementine asked coldly, as the stranger gulped and tried another tactic.

"Clem I... you don't even know my name. I've told anyone in my cult, I never... you could be the first to know. I... I'd become a better person I promise! I've done wrong I know! But haven't we all! We could be a new family Clem! I want to talk about Adam and Tess and my family, I never spoke to them about anyone other than you and Lee, but I need too! I want someone to sympathise with me! I want someone to be kind too me! Just for fucking once! That human side is still inside of you Clementine! Don't do this!" the stranger begged.

Clementine was silent.

"Please, give me a second chance" the stranger sobbed, his green eyes boring into Clementine's yellow one's.

In those moments Clementine made her decision.

_"No Second Chances" _were her final words to the stranger.

BANG!

* * *

It was over.

The stranger was dead, a bullet clean through his skull. The once almighty leader of a massive cult, the calm and intimidating man who had completely ruined and wrecked her group was finally dead. Clementine knew the second his head hit the floor, this whole second chance thing would end. She just knew it. There would be no more dreams, no more being taken back, her last words to him rang as true as they could be.

No second chances.

He shouldn't have been alive, her major error of keeping him alive had led to so much death and destruction. Now he was dead she had corrected the timeline, that lingering dark piece of past was finally gone. She was finally, finally able to move onwards.

Nick carried Clementine back outside the tent, none of the three said a word. It was over, they said all that they had too. almost as if on cue a black truck that had been rolling over and flattening tents screeched to a halt right in front of where Nick, Clementine and Sarah were standing (in Clem's case being carried).

"Ten O Clock truck to Wellington! All aboard!" Came Molly's cheerful chime, as Sarah felt a few happy tears slide down her cheeks as she exclaimed in joy "MOLLY!" as the blonde woman smiled down at her and turned to Luke "They got her, let's bust this joint" as Nick opened the door to the truck, carrying Clementine inside as Sarah happily gazed at her friends who had all come back for her, as she seated herself next to Nick.

"I can't believe you did this for me" she sobbed.

"We always come back Sarah, whether you want us too or not" Luke told her, sharing a smile with Clementine as the few bullets started to bounced off the windscreen as Stephanie uttered "Shit, time to go" as the put her foot down on the pedal and the truck flattened the camp as they drove too freedom, but there was still one last thing to do.

Molly lowered one of the windows, Luke had already lit a match they had on them as he handed it to Molly.

"The honour is your's, as promised" he told her.

Stephanie was driving past the other trucks, she didn't just steal a truck, oh no. She had suggested it herself, if possible, to ensure that more fuel was around so... they wouldn't be followed. She remembered vividly getting the idea from Lilly back at Howe's Lilly had suggested burning all the trucks. Why leave Lilly's legacy to die, it was a smart idea and one Stephanie didn't want to give on.

Molly flung the match out of the window, Stephanie had found cans of fuel and diesel located next to the trucks, how easy was it for her to pour the fuel all over the remaining 4 trucks and all over white sheets covering the trucks. In fact she had done such a good job the raven haired woman herself was splattered in fuel. Which probably explained the strange smell emitting from her but never the less she wasn't the one having fire flung at her so she was fine (although she knew she'd have to wipe the fuel off her at some point) Molly's lit match landed directly on top of the trucks.

The fire spread in seconds, devouring and consuming the trucks, hearing the distressed yells of whatever remained of the cult is what caused Molly to grin uncontrollably as she fist-bumped a smiling Stephanie.

"Genius plan my fellow Klepto" Molly said.

"It's an honour" Stephanie replied as they drove out of the damn camp. But it got even better as one of the truck's seemingly exploded behind them. Molly witnessed this and laid back in her seat "Brilliant, mother-fucking brilliant. Now please all allow me to enjoy this movie cliché moment while it lasts" she told the group.

Clementine didn't know whether it was this comment, or whether it was the fact that they had officially left the camp, rendering their complex plan a success that made them all laugh. This wasn't normal laughter, it was louder, more delirious, everyone started laughing. Even though she was in agony Clementine laughed as if there was no tomorrow, tears streaming down her cheeks. Luke limbs were flying everywhere he was laughing so hard, he had promised no more causalities and for once... that had actually happened. It was just... a relief.

Sarah began laughing and crying on Nick's shoulder, as Nick himself hammered his seat with his fists, tears of mirth spilling from his eyes. Molly and Stephanie gave themselves very heavy hiccups as they were laughing so hard, Stephanie still somehow managing to drive the truck onwards.

All the laughter, it was the crazy laughter of people who had been through hell and survived.

It was the laughter of people who knew they had played the game with the cult...

_and won._

Clementine had no idea what new adventure awaited on the horizon or in Wellington, she knew it wasn't going to be all sunshine and rainbows, it never was.

But Clementine could finally, truly move on.


	51. Aftermath

**A/N: Okay here we go the penultimate chapter! (and a speical thanks to Kristal Dynamite for the new cover image) the poll will close soon and I'll reveal the results in the final chapter, for now I give you guys what you were promised and that's the original plan for Going To Ruin... **

**Everything stayed the same at first, up until Gill's death Randy and Patricia still died but Gill was in the store. He is saved by Sarita who regrets her past actions however her and her unborn baby end up being devoured. Naturally Kenny goes nuts especially when it's revealed that Gill was already previously bitten he turns in the truck and bites Christa (hence her hand is amputated) before he is put down. Kenny goes even more crazy when he realises Sarita died for nothing and pours his heart out to the group about his sins and berates the Russians for their actions.**

**The truck is stopped, same arguments occur with a ranting Kenny raging at the Russians as he has nothing left to lose revealing the whole meds thing. When Nick reveals he knew it all as well, Kenny gets mad at him and goes to shoot him only for Lilly to give her life to save Nick's, in a panic Stef still crashes the truck (but Eddie is free of blame because he never shot anyone) the group trek onwards an insane Kenny and the Russians regretting their actions immensely.**

**There is no Christa-Mike as Arvo is still alive his little romance with Sarah would have occurred faster, Vitali and Natasha are still alive as well when they reach the lodge full of sick. After being double crossed the whole herd scene stays the same with Kelly dying, the group's separation etc... only the Russians end up with Rebecca's group. What happens to Arvo/Sarah still happens, but Arvo doesn't run and he shot dead before Nick and the others turn up to find a grieving, shaken Sarah, she swears revenge on the cult.**

**The group unite at the Lake, all stays the same. Except only Mike/Vince die. Wyatt survives and stays with Eddie but despite their efforts AJ dies for real as Rebecca is present (making her grieve further). Natasha and Vitali at this point (with her brother dead and the group going to hell) try and run away and seek shelter in the old house. Leaving Christa behind who grows overly attached to Clementine now that AJ is dead and accuses Luke of being a pedo... etc...**

**Bonnie dies of the drug overdose in the basement due to her grief of losing Mike, Christa refinds the russians and condemns them for not doing anything to save Bonnie. She brutally murders them and blames the murder on Luke (at this point the group is reunited, all of the cult-stuff about Luke comes out) Kenny is enraged and tries to kill Luke. (Molly is introduced in a similar manner, but the whole skin cape thing doesn't occur) **

**In the house fire Wyatt is killed by Nate, while Stephanie kills Marisol to save Sarah, Eddie is injured but avenges his friend by killing Nate. Kenny goes off to kill Luke but after Clementine snaps some sense into Christa she has a change of heart and she becomes the one who stays behind and dies while Kenny, Luke and Clem escape.**

**2 weeks later the cult once again catch up to the group with no babies to get this time, they simply prove their point of wanting to prove the group as monsters. The group escape and manage to hole up at a large lodge as one final showdown ensures between their group and the cult. The main group somehow win this mass gunfight with no casualties but as they take it in turns to brutally kill the stranger he reveals a second wave of cultists attacking, although the stranger is still killed his vengeful cult manage to kill Sarah. As the group stayed behind to torture the stranger rather than escape revealing themselves to be the true monsters. **

**Escaping the cult, Clem desperately runs after Nick and Stephanie who runs after him, the group is separated and Clem is injured by the cult. Saved by Nick-Stef she wakes in the cave similar to chapter one. With Sarah dead and Nick in deep grieving the group have no choice but to continue on to Wellington.**

**On the way they manage to find Eddie, Rebecca, Kenny and Luke once again, the story ends with 7 of them reaching Wellington. **

**Well what do you think? There are a lot of reasons I changed the plot and I'd be happy to answer them in PM's as I realise these author's note is Waaaaaaaay to long, but I just want to say thanks for following and reading up to this point and I hope these last two chapters don't disappoint.**

* * *

"Now what?"

It was a question that wasn't asked verbally, but one that was raging through the minds of the 6 survivors crammed at the front of the truck the euphoria of successfully saving Sarah and beating the cult once and for all had faded as the hours went on. A silence had begun to engulf the truck as people slowly began to drift off to sleep. The only injures that needed attending to were Molly's bruises on her cheek (caused by Luke's punch) and Luke's cut on his cheek (caused by Hilda).

"This is hard, that damn cult" Sarah muttered under her breath as she tried to dab away at Luke's reddened cheek with a wet piece of cloth now using only one arm. Gritting his teeth together as she cooled the inflamed wound, he managed to a response "It's fine Sarah, their gone now. They ain't gonna cause us trouble anymore" hearing his soothed words sent Sarah into a silence as she tended to him.

"Did you and Molly... have to make that act so violent?" Sarah suddenly asked, causing Luke to avert his brown orbs up at her.

"It had to be done Sarah. They were messed up fuckers, I knew they liked violence and judging how much they liked to watch us kill each other... in the most sadistic way possible and their beliefs about me, I just knew they'd... they'd just sit there and watch. Admittedly it was a guess but the more violent and sexual it was the more they were hooked. They do say sex sells guess it applied to them" Luke told the 16 year old, as she gulped a rush of memories coming back to haunt her.

"Molly... was she okay with the act?" Sarah inquired, glancing over at the blonde woman's dozing form.

"Okay? Sarah she gave me the stuff to say. She said the whole violence thing would make it more authentic, she would go through all of that just to save you Sarah. I know we don't know her much and she acts like she doesn't care, but she does. I know she does. Jane cares. That's what you gotta like about her" Luke was saying as Sarah gave him a hard look yet he stared blankly back at her. Failing to realise his slip up in words and how causally Molly had somehow became Jane. (Everyone else other than Stephanie was asleep, as the raven haired woman was driving the truck and she didn't overhear Luke)

"Um... Luke..." Sarah piped up nervously.

"What is it Sarah?" Luke asked, he seemed completely oblivious of his mistake and the way he was looking at Molly now, Sarah wasn't a love expert but he knew his face was softening. She thought Luke was fine, but after the amount of lovers he had lost and the grief he was going through she expected some mental scars and these scars didn't fade. She knew Luke couldn't love Molly, not in the short space of time they had known each other, added to the fact he would be curious and guarded after the amount of lovers he lost.

No, it would make no plausible sense for him to suddenly just bow down on one knee and declare his undying love for a woman he'd only known for a few weeks. (Besides Sarah knew Molly wasn't the type for romance at all). Even Sarah knew, Luke didn't love Molly. No, he still loved Jane, Bonnie's death had pushed him further over the edge and now he was craving his old lover back more than ever.

So he saw Jane in Molly, the similarities between them... the short hair. The lost younger sister, the "badass" factor the pair of them had.

"Um, I just wondered if Molly... um... how old she is" Sarah improvised instantly.

"Oh, well Molly's 20 something I think... I think Nick told me... but I forgot. Sorry bout that" Luke mumbled as Sarah breathed a sigh of relief, he was back to calling her "Molly" again. He was damaged but he would pull through, with help from his friends. What made it even better for Sarah is that Luke finally did seem to take Molly's advice as he inhaled and muttered "You know Sarah, looking at that stump of an arm, I feel guilty I... did the exact same thing with Sarita and I can't help but feel she might have somehow survived the birth, if she had both arms. I'm..."

"It's okay. I could be dead. It's gonna take a while to get used too but you saved my life Luke" Sarah told him to reassure the troubled man and too calm his fears. Luke went to sleep next to her fairly easily as Sarah remained awake. Gazing out of the window, too overwhelmed by what had happened to her to get any sort of sleep, in all honesty she wasn't okay with her stump of an arm. She hated it.

She felt like a freak with it, it looked ugly, seeing Reggie and Sarita with this wound was something she'd grown used too. But her? She didn't like it, she could almost envision where her other slim hand would be right now had she retained her arm. The hand would be on her leg yet the absence of this made her shiver as she curled up into herself.

Gazing out into the endless blizzard behind the cracked window-screen, she found it hard to think on the bright side, that was until she realised one thing that could make her smile.

She only lost her left arm, she could still write and read and pick up weapons.

* * *

If there was one thing Clementine had learned from this truck it was that Molly didn't need to find ways around massive chunks of snow anymore. This truck could plough through any obstacle in it's path and was clearly designed for the harsh winter conditions, hearing Molly cheer in celebration whenever she ploughed over a wall of snow raised spirits in the truck a little more.

"Wellington here we come!" she would yell.

"Hopefully Eddie, Rebecca and the kids made it there as well" Stephanie commented.

"I'm sure they did. They're tougher than you think and that truck may have been weaker than this one. But I've gut feelin' there at Wellington" Luke reassured her.

General chit chatter echoed throughout the front of the truck, now that everybody had their night's sleep they were refreshed and ready to express and voice their inner fears, troubles, past mistakes and hopes for the future, along with their differing opinions on what Wellington would be like when they got there. Clementine wanted to keep an open mind and assure herself it wasn't going to be that good. For all they knew it could have been taken over by a tyrant. It could have already fallen to walkers. Rebecca, Eddie and the kids could be long dead and it could all go to hell.

Although when they passed the "WELCOME TO MICHIGAN" sign, Clementine couldn't help the small smile that was playing on her face as a sense of anticipation grew. They were close now. Very close. Pulling out a detailed map on the state, Luke had drawn a small black cross on where Wellington was apparently located.

"Well, hopefully your geography is good, or you've doomed us all" Molly told him.

"I studied art and history, Geography ain't my strong point I'm afraid" Luke told her in mock sadness as she sadly shook her head "Oh... stupid, helpless husband. What I am going to do with you?"

"Whatever you want" Luke suggested in a seductive tone, causing Molly to burst out in laughter, when she managed to calm herself down. Luke spoke up again

"I... I just wanna thank you though Molly, I'm sorry I put you through that..."

"Oh boy here we go" Molly commented dryly to thin air.

"...and It can't have been comfortable for you. I mean I know wasn't comfortable either..."

"...you were fully nude and I only had my bra ripped off. Honestly you should have been more uncomfortable. I mean... no offence... it's not like you... you have a bad body or anything I um..." Molly stumbled on her words slightly before continuing "It's just. I've had a lot of shit in the past with guys. Put me off men and romance in general. I knew when I suggested that it was going to be a challenge for me. But I did it, I felt proud of myself" Molly's eyes were shining somewhat, yet she quickly gulped down any tears. No way in hell was she going to get mushy, not now.

"I know, after Jane, then Bonnie, hell even Kelly. I...I don't... I didn't feel comfortable when I was looking... well your body. I... well... it gave me a sense a deja vu, every woman I get with dies in some horrible way. I just... I always wanted a long term relationship Molly. I wanted to have that wife, that son or daughter and that house with white picket fence. Only the simple things, but I can't have it. Not now" Luke mumbled to himself sadly.

"Family's important Luke. The group here is family. You might not get that wife you want, but you have Clem, you have friends. That's all you need, besides... loving in the apocalypse, there's the risk of being heartbroken..."

"Yeah, what Mike did to Bonnie. Kenny and Christa losing their partners it drove them over the edge. I don't want to be like that" Luke reasoned.

"Yeah and there's the risk of pregnancy I mean..." (she whispered at this point) "... Nick and Stephanie are cute together. I'm glad they have each other, but... there's always that risk. and especially in an apocalypse a baby is damn hard to look after and keep alive..."

"Yeah" Luke echoed in agreement. Images of children with his face and his hair fading from his mind.

"Besides, I'm not... I don't do all this love stuff. It's stupid." Molly continued somewhat sadly.

"Yeah. Stupid." Luke repeated that word absently.

"Yeah..." Molly almost whispered.

Luke gazed at her.

"I always wanted to know Molly, answer me honestly. Why did you help us in the first place?" Luke inquired the question suddenly popping up in his brain. Molly gulped before answering "I um... In all honesty Luke other than the cult leading me here and Clem being here... I was lonely. I was so fed up of being by myself and just surviving and jack shit else. Being with you guys, it's been the most fun I've had in a long time" she finished there as Luke muttered "Okay"

Upon hearing this Molly decided the conversation was over and turned away to talk to Stephanie. While Luke gazed at her, he didn't love her but in so many damn ways she reminded him of Jane. Clenching his eyes shut he envisioned Jane's image in his mind, Molly was right. Love was stupid at a time like this. But if Jane was here he wouldn't care, he would risk pregnancy, he would protect a family of his own with his life. But she was gone. So was Bonnie. So was every woman he'd ever loved.

But it was fun. According to Molly, she was right about that too. It was. While it lasted.

"Luke?"

He looked up, Clementine was gazing concerned at him, pulling her into a hug he cherished the little sister figure he had left as he whispered to her "I miss her Clem. I miss Bonnie, I miss Jane. Why does this shit always happen to me?" he inquired of the 12 year old, before he released her as she wheezed for breath. He completely forgot how battered she was, as he stumbled for an apology.

"It's okay I..." Clementine paused before carrying on "Luke when I get better, can you teach me how to hunt and all that? Just like you promised. For all we know Wellington won't last forever and... It would take your mind off things" she told him. Luke nodded vigorously as he took one tiny step out of the grieving process, now that he had something to look forward too in the future.

"Yeah. We'll do that" Luke mused to a beaming Clementine.

* * *

Sarah had finished speaking to Nick, Wellington was mere miles away now and the group were as excited as ever, to finally reach the destination that they had long spoke of.

"Hey" Sarah managed to shyly say to Clementine, the younger girl looked up at her best friend.

"Hey" was the friendly echoed reply.

"I um... about what happened back at the camp I... I'm so sorry! I panicked and I...!" Sarah rushed out the apology knowing that Clementine deserved it, as the 12 year old merely replied coolly "It's okay Sarah, I already forgave you, I know you panicked and I'll get better".

Sarah gulped before she asked the obvious question.

"Were still...friends right?"

"No" Clementine said as Sarah's face fell. Yet Clementine smiled as she spoke up again.

"Were not friends Sarah, were best friends remember?" she mused to her friend as Sarah squeaked in joy and began to babble on in an excited tone once again "You know while you get better, I could keep you company. I only lost my left arm and not my right one so I can still read too you, I hope they have books in Wellington and maybe we can have slumber parties again and..."

Clementine listened on, she liked the sound of it.

Sarah had changed since she had been at Howe's, but their ultimate victory wasn't just getting Sarah back.

It was retaining the humanity that the cult had tried so hard to destroy. By coming back for a friend.

* * *

"This is it!" Nick exclaimed as an unbelievable sight flooded his eyes, he gasped and grinned to himself "No fucking way" he mused in delight.

"Well, this seems like a great place to settle" Stephanie muttered from next to him, as her and Nick locked eyes, before locking lips, when they broke apart Nick muttered "I promised you we'd make it Stef, now we can... well..."

"Start living a life?" Stephanie suggested as Nick nodded, both of them flushing furiously.

"and we can build a snowman! Just like you promised Nick!" Sarah shouted butting into the couple's intimate moment. Grinning to himself Nick turned to Sarah "Yeah, all three of us we'll do it. We'll build that snowman, won't we Stef?" Nick asked of the woman he loved.

"Yeah, it has to be big as well Sarah" Stephanie muttered to the excited teenager.

"Yeah, we'll make it huge!" Sarah shouted, images of giant snowmen running rampant in her mind. As she did this Luke turned to where Nick was currently driving and approached his best friend.

"What are we looking at here man?" Luke inquired of Nick, leaning forwards slightly to gaze at Wellington.

"Something damn good that's for sure" Nick replied.

Wellington, a wall about 10 to 12 foot high stretched as far as the eye could see. The wall looked as if it was joint together by bits of scarp and corrugated iron but it looked sturdy enough to reassure the group walkers wouldn't topple it down easily. Crane's and the top's of buildings were visible just peeking over the top of the wall, columns of grey-ish looking industrial smoke wafted up into the pale blue icy sky. and what was better is that there was a large bolted door signalling where the entrance was.

But the cherry on the top of the cake was, it was surrounded by a giant moat, which was filled to the brim with walker corpses. The moat had to be about 5 times the size of the one they had back in Howe's.

"They stole our idea" was all Clementine could say in awe.

This caused the group to chuckle, before Nick pressed his foot down on the pedal driving forwards right towards the edge of the moat and on the other side stood the entrance to Wellington. Ensuring their bags were firmly placed on their backs, Nick stopped the truck by the entrance as the group stepped out and looked up at the silent wall.

"HEY! ANYBODY HOME!?" Luke yelled in hope.

There were a few seconds of tense silence.

"WE CAN SEE YOU DOWN THERE! WE'LL BE WITH YOU SHORTLY!" Came a female voice from a loudspeaker, somewhere out of sight. causing many of the group to breathe in relief, for a few minutes they waited there. Gazing at the wall for any other signs of life before suddenly the massive door to Wellington clunked open. The curious group watched as a massive drawbridge was lowered "With chains as well, that's impressive" Nick observed.

The end of the drawbridge touched the edge of the moat, a clear path to Wellington lay ahead of them, a woman walked across the bridge followed by a quite a few men carrying guns "Lower your weapons!" she barked at the group who instantly obeyed her command. The men with guns circled the group like predators, inspecting if they had anything hidden in their clothes. and tearing open backpacks to see if somebody was hiding something inside.

"We'll take the guns, if you have a melee weapon it's advised you hand them over as well. Although if you really want too you can keep them, I've come across way to many people who have an obsession or a bond with their weapon. They can't be parted" The woman told the group as Molly spoke up "Well you're about to meet another one, not that I'll use it for evil. I just..."

"Yeah, heard it all before. Anyway I'm Edith" The woman introduced herself clearly as the men behind her searched the truck. Sarah shyly waved back at Edith.

"Hmm... two kids. One missing an arm and one being carried" she glanced at Clementine in Luke's arms, shaking her head she muttered "You people will need medical attention and a good hose down. You stink. The guys here will drive your truck to the hanger bay, it's where we keep all the vehicles people get here in".

"That's smart" Clementine said, to Edith's smile.

"and you have a moat, walkers can't swim. That's a clever idea. One we had in the past" Luke told Edith who merely nodded before ploughing on "Yep I know about that. Luke isn't it? Yep, guy with the beard here never shuts about the comparison. Now don't look so shocked (the groups mouths were hanging open at this point) we've heard your name from those two. We've been expecting you, they were convinced you guys would arrive, hence the lax security check your getting. We've heard your good people, don't prove us wrong" Edith warned them.

"If what what got was lax, what's the usual inspection like?" Nick asked in curiosity.

"You don't want to know" Edith replied.

It was then (looking forward) that two figures sprinted from the door and out towards the group by the scream of "OH MY GOD!" it was already confirmed who these two people were, they knew Rebecca's voice a mile off.

"You made it! Oh my God! You made it!" Rebecca fussed hugging everyone twice, tears flooding her eyes as Eddie stood back a large smile on his face greeting them with "I told you they'd make it Rebecca, no need to fuss".

It was weird seeing them in plainer, cleaner looking clothes and with the grime, dirt and sweat wiped from their faces, they looked and smelled like something angelic in this world of rotting people and nauseating stenches.

"Where are the kids?" Nick asked.

"Their inside, oh you have to come in. Me and Eddie arrived a few days ago, it's amazing here, it honestly is. Their rebuilding roads, houses and even a school! Can you believe it? Most of us still live in set up tents though but it's not an issue, it is something else here. It's what we've been after the whole time, a stable shelter!" Rebecca mused once again hugging everyone as she wiped tears away from her eyes. It was only then that she realised Clementine's condition as she gasped "Clem, baby girl what happened to you?" she asked in alarm.

"It's a... long story" Clementine muttered.

"Well then I'm sure we'd all love to discuss it inside and not out here where the walkers can nibble away at us. Come on in, you guys (Edith pointed at Luke, indicating the group of 5 behind him) will be living with your two friends here and the infants. We had to expand the camp as it got overcrowded in the past, we built outwards for more space. It's still overcrowded but we try and make room for everyone. We also expect you guys to do some serious work. If you don't pull your weight around then I'm sorry you have no place here..."

"I'm sure were all capable of helpin' you run this place" Luke told the black haired woman to reassure her they weren't useless liabilities.

"Good to hear, also to keep our society working, we can't risk criminals or bandits running around. You guys need to keep in line I'll warn you here. Our leader... his... he... he has very severe punishments for those that do wrong. Despite the warnings, once every so often someone will murder someone else. Or steal supplies... don't look alarmed it doesn't happen often and those that do it... let's just say they aren't around to do it again" Edith spoke sombrely, as they crossed the drawbridge.

"Sounds oppressive" Nick spoke before anyone could stop him, yet rather than upset Edith, it only made her laugh.

"I know, sounds awful. But honestly it's not that bad here, you seem like good people. Keep working and be good girls and boys and you'll get by here just fine".

"How many other people are here? How many like... kids?" Sarah suddenly asked, unable to contain her curiosity.

"Well, adding you to the list" Edith pulled out an official looking clipboard at this point "With all you guys arriving that brings our total up to approximately 2,783 residents" she smiled as Stephanie managed to say "Over... 2000... people..."

"Not bad hey? We have to keep tabs of births and deaths. There's a lot more accurate information on population statics in the Centre Hub, it's our name for the town hall they used to have here".

"and are we being taken there now?" Molly asked, the group had to step to the side of the road to avoid the truck as it rolled past, as it did Clementine looked behind her to see to drawbridge being pulled up manually by eight muscular men, four for each chain. It made the little plank they used back at Howe's seem so pathetic in comparison.

"and you asked about kids, well take a look for yourself" Edith spoke to Sarah bringing Clementine back down to earth as she realised. She was in Wellington now, the groups eyes vastly explored every inch of their new home and Clementine absorbed it all like a sponge.

A few shoddily buildings stood at either side of her, they were people. Oh yes, people of all shapes, sizes, ages and races hard at work, some were in construction gear paving down a new road, others had police uniforms on and circled the buildings like vultures. By the buildings stood dozens of multicoloured tents. These propped up tents were everywhere, dotted around buildings, in the middle of the streets that were being rebuilt.

Since they were trailing behind Edith looking like tourists, naturally these other people knew Clementine's group were new to the community. Many people stop and stared, children running in the middle of the street stopped to gaze up at her, from where Luke carried her. Families inside of tents poked their heads out in curiosity to look at the newbies. Those with assigned jobs looked up briefly at the new group before returning to whatever the hell they were tasked to do.

Buildings and tents clogged this half of Wellington, on the other half stood vast fields, filled to the brim with crops. Something which looked a reservoir also stood in the fields, as large pipes ran from the reservoir to the houses on the other side of Wellington "Fresh toilet and running water folks" Edith advertised pointing at the pipes. They also passed a massive stinking landfill "Emptied every month along with the walkers in the moat, glad it's not my job" was all Edith could say about that.

Food, Water and some of the sturdier buildings had solar panels equipped not amazing for this time of year, when the snow fell, and the sky was clogged with grey clouds. But in summer they should have had a supply of electricity. They soon navigated their way to the "centre hub" a majestic looking building about 3 floors high and as wide as a football pitch. Decorated with double glazed large windows, and built with bricks painted a soothing shade of cream. Edith invited the group inside the warm and cosy place. Clementine was reminded of an 18th century house being in here equipped with large rooms, and one big room that looked like a court.

"Meetings and Court sessions need be, occur here. Were trying to bring back law and order" Edith ever the tourist guide informed the gawking group behind her, while Eddie and Rebecca merely smiled knowing this information already.

They didn't meet the leader, he was a busy man according to Edith. The group were tasked with getting a shower "To keep hygiene up and to stop diseases from spreading" was Edith's logic for it. After the warm showers they would be brought to a small room for questioning, details about themselves, name, age, height, weight, blood type, current condition, any diseases they had, mental stability was assessed (the group looked at each other nervously then) Luke bent down and told Clementine, "Clem I managed to get round to the group not to mention the second chance stuff, can you as well? I mean we know what happened but it has to stay between us. Eddie and Rebecca didn't mention it when they were questioned so we shouldn't either. But other than that be honest with them. Tell them what happened, Rebecca says they have lot of people who've done bad things here. But they're not bad people".

"Okay" Clementine nodded to show she understood.

Their new life at Wellington was about to begin.


	52. Epilogue

**Here we go, after 51 chapters, over 700 reviews, 30,000 plus views and a hell of a lot of character deaths it's the concluding chapter to Going To Ruin? Now the poll is closed I'll reveal the results to the poll decisions **

**01- 70% of players chose to leave the Hardware Store, while 30% opted to stay.**

**02- 75% of players chose to leave Gill to turn, fulfilling his last wish while 25% shot him to prevent him from turning **

**03- 75% of players chose to frame the Russians while 25% framed Wyatt, Eddie or Bonnie **

**04- 100% of players chose to stick up for Eddie, while 0% allowed Vince to berate him**

**05- 65% of players chose to help Alex, while 55% left him to be devoured by walkers **

**06- 60% of players allowed Nick to shoot Josh, while 40% allowed Clementine to shoot him dead **

**07- 90% of players shot Vince, while 10% decided to spare him **

**08- 95% of players comforted Christa, while 5% allowed her to wallow in her depression **

**09- 80% of players tried to talk sense into Kenny after he nearly killed his daughter, while 20% fought him**

**10- 90% of players believed that Luke had a second chance, while 10% refused to believe him **

**11- 70% of players stayed back to sacrifice themselves, while 30% escaped leaving Luke to die**

**12- 65% of players went out alone to die, while 35% chose to have one last act of pleasure with Luke **

**13- 60% of players trusted Luke fully, while 40% felt like their was something he was hiding **

**14- 60% of players brutally killed the cancer survivors, while 40% decided to spare them and join the cult **

**15- 100% of players went back to save Sarah, while 0% chose to head on to Wellington without her **

**Okay thank you all for voting! Some of the results were very unexpected to say the least, such as the one with Alex as more people wanted to help him than leave him but in many reviews for that chapter a lot felt he deserved his death. Did Sarah go too far? Or did you vote to help him seeing what it would cause in hindsight had Sarah left him?**

**Now (randomly answering a review question here) Salient Spring I think humanity today is a lot more civilized and kinder than it was the past, as we have more education, morales and freedom than we did in the past. However under extreme situations I think humanity today can be just as bad, (or even worse in many cases) than what we've seen in the past. Because in this modern day and age people are educated and know what's right and wrong and still choose to do bad things, it maybe more of a minority of the population but humanity can still be as bad today than it ever was.**

**Right now there isn't a lot left to say, other than a massive thank you to everyone who stopped and took time to review! It really made my day seeing all your kind words from chapter to chapter and was the main motivating reason I kept on writing, not only because of my love for the game and characters. But also to craft an entertaining story for you guys and from what I've read I have seemingly succeeded, so for the final time thank you all for everything! **

**I'll be taking a break of fanfiction for a while but I'll come back one day (maybe even sooner than you think) but writing this story has been draining at points. But I was determined to finish it, during these last couple of chapters I had a bit of writer's block (hence the plan with the stranger and all being a bit rushed and how it went perfectly) so I need a break from writing to get my mojo back before I get to work on the final concluding story in this "Second Chance Trilogy" look for ****_Ruin To Redemption_**** when it comes out. **

**Okay, for the final time Thank you for reading folks! here is the final chapter!**

**P.S. If you're portal fan, you'll get the song thrown in this chapter.**

* * *

_**Epilogue**_

_24 Months Later_

**Wellington High School, grand opening!** The headline screamed, Clementine smiled to herself before turning the page and reading the next chunk of text below.

_Students and parents express joy at return of the education in this apocalyptic society, approximately 5 and a half years since corpses started rising in July of 2003. It is on the 5th of December 2008 that Wellington High has reopened it's doors after years of repair works and organisation of students and families._

_"It will be revolutionary, it will be the first step towards educating the next generation of professor's, lawyers, sport stars, Journalists, Retail Workers, Cashiers, any job that wasn't needed out there" said head of the department of Education Alan Reed._

_"These jobs and education are essential in re-introducing the younger populace back into a civilised society that we have spent years building here in Wellington" Reed continued "We are happy to announce we have plans for over 500 students between the ages of 11 and 21 to have mandatory full time education in the new high school"._

_The breakthrough comes from the success of Wellington Junior School which was opened in October which has seen around 100 children between the ages of 2 to 11 educated successfully, with glowing reviews from parents and staff alike._

_"It's like it's an actual town once again, it is just what my little boy needs" Mother of one Rebecca Warren, 38, told the Wellington Weekly._

_"We have several children with learning difficulties and problems in literacy, numeracy and science, many are also traumatized by previous events that have occurred to them. But with our counselling support and help we worked night and day to help these children and the rewards of our work have been outstanding so far" teacher Hattie Davis, 34 said._

_President Schulz was unavailable for comment, however officials state that he is "pleased" of the news of the continuing success of the __educational system within Wellington. _

_The school opens full time for students on the 7th of December, where students will work from 9AM to 3PM._

Dropping the Wellington Weekly onto the wooden floor next to her, a 14 year old Clementine Marsh readjusted the old cap on her head and smiled. So, Sarah was right then the school was opening once again. After slaving away in the fields for years now she was heartened to hear a piece of her old life and society was finally coming back. They had come a long way since they had first joined Wellington's society.

After their intense questioning ended, they were released and headed on back to their humble tent in the shadow of a large house. Rebecca reassured them all that they would have a house soon. The construction workers were building as fast as they could and were always making expansions on the wall. They were soon assigned to their jobs too.

Clementine and Sarah (being younger without any job experience) were naturally sent off to help in the fields, since Luke was a previous farm hand he went with the two girls as well. The trio of them had to earn their own food while also having to harvest a certain amount of corn crops (or whatever other crops) for the society in general. The fields and farms in Wellington were huge and had only gotten bigger over the years, meaning their was always work to do. Always crops to harvest or animals to tend too. Sarah loved this part of the job.

"Ow, look Clem! Look! A cow!" Sarah exclaimed in joy gazing at the black and white creature that merely mooed in response to the excited teenager.

"D' Ya git excited lass, y'all scare her" an older farmhand grumbled from next to her in an accent that was completely alien to Clementine's ears. As the old farmhand went to go back to his own business. Luke stroked the cow muttering "Here girl, ain't you a pretty one, hey?" before he crouched below the farm animal and grabbed it's udders "Here Clem, Sarah help me squeeze the udders, we need to get the milk out" Luke instructed of them. Although Sarah was hesitant she eventually gripped one of the udders and squeezed.

"So gross..." she moaned.

"It's kinda cool" Clementine muttered to Luke. He smiled down at her as he continued to fill the silver buckets below the cow with the fresh milk. Luke certainly looked as if he was in his element doing these exhausting and somewhat mundane tasks. However he seemed to be enjoying the work, or maybe it gave him a distraction from all that happened before.

Luke kept his promise to Clem as well, at the edge of the fields lay a big forest within the walls of Wellington. Sarah never came with them, as she couldn't stand the thought of killing cute animals (her reaction when Nick told her what happened to the pigs in the farm, was enough to put her off the sausages provided in Wellington for a while). Never the less, when there was a bad day in the fields or their large group lacked in food. Clem and Luke would set off to the forest. It was a damn long walk but the meat was worth it.

Clementine watched Luke use his machete to carve weapons such as bow and arrows, traps, snares, and spears out of the wood of the trees, he taught Clementine to do the same. At first her fingers bled at the troublesome task, "I... I can't!" she yelled in frustration, dropping a crudely cut spear she had made on the floor. Luke made her pick up and try again until she finally got it right. Within 6 months of these forest treks Clementine had become an efficient hunter in her own right.

So her, Luke and Sarah provided their little group with the food it needed. While the others were assigned to different jobs, Nick (although previously a farmhand) was treated somewhat differently by the "officials" those who surrounded the president of Wellington (the leader). These officials observed everyone and thoroughly checked records of said people with the information they had been provided. So under their instructions Nick was assigned to be a policeman. Yes, an upholder of the law in Wellington, the police were the only one's within Wellington who were allowed to carry guns with them.

Why on earth they allowed trigger-happy Nick (the only one out of all of their group) to be the one that carried a gun, no one knew. Stephanie was adamant he had lied during his questioning which he furiously denied (leading to another argument between the pair). However with his now raised confidence and his duty to protect people, it seemed like Nick's job (with seemed mismatched at first) suited him perfectly. He did look intimidating in his black police uniform. "and you look sexy" Stephanie purred to him. Their previous argument forgotten, as her fetish with seeing Nick in uniform, soothed her temper.

Nick was tasked with upholding the law "More like walking around, staring at people. We don't do all that much" he tell Stephanie grumpily. Although Luke was assured that he was gloating to them in a very undermine way. He always seemed to bring up his lack of work, whenever the sweating, sore and panting forms of Clementine, Luke and Sarah would enter the tent.

Stephanie was tasked as a lookout guard of Wellington. Her job was similar to Nick's, other than she had to sit at the top of the wall each day with a loudspeaker. Informing the guards and policemen below if any walker had managed to somehow get across the moat. Or if their were new survivors on the horizon, they had 10 lookouts stationed around the massive wall that encircled Wellington. Stephanie and Nick worked to protect the community although in the first 12 months or so they didn't do much. Preferring to use up their energy at night instead, in private places where the group couldn't overhear or see them.

Rebecca was simply let off any sort of work to look after the kids, but she grew bored of this quickly and was soon sweeping up the streets to Wellington or tasked with cleaning buildings "What next, do I have to make the president his sandwiches?" she would muse in light humour. Looking after the kids, cleaning up... yep she felt like a right feminist doing these jobs.

Eddie meanwhile was tasked with working with the construction team, Eddie wasn't the strongest man in Wellington but he certainly got the tasks done without much error and was helping pave down the roads and build more houses.

While Molly was sent out on a "scouting team" a group of individuals who would leave the safety of Wellington's walls, to bring back supplies, records, or even other survivors in some rare occasions. Wellington was very self sufficient, but that little bit of extra help from outside, was always a plus point. Clementine would notice how tense Luke seemed to get when Molly was out on these "trips" she'd usually be gone a few weeks before returning always safe and sound and ready to sit down with the group and discuss her tales from the outside.

When she wasn't scouting, or when Eddie wasn't building they (along with Luke sometimes) would be tasked with cleaning some of the bodies from the moat, they would have to load make sure the walkers were dead. Before loading them into the back of garbage truck that disposed of the bodies in a site far off from Wellington. The landfill in Wellington also went with the bodies, Luke, Molly and Eddie would return stinking of things that made Clementine's eyes water.

"Well at least my walker killin' skills ain't growin' rusty" Luke would muse to lighten the mood. But Clementine knew the only reason he could bear the stench was because it probably some of the only times he got to talk with Molly, as time went on he seemed to grow more and more fond of her presence. Molly was much slower before she finally started warming up to him, laughing at his jokes and generally admitting she was enjoying his company.

No matter how many times the pair of them would say "We don't need romance, not after what we've been through" Clementine always wondered maybe... just one more shot. They both wanted it but wouldn't admit it, they were so cautious about it and all Clementine wanted was to see the pair of them happy. Both they were both as strong and stubborn as each other and during that first year, as it became more and more apparent Wellington was growing and becoming a safe haven. They did grow closer.

_"This was a triumph_

_I'm making a note here_

_HUGE SUCCESS" _

Then, everything started going downhill.

* * *

_"It's hard to overstate my satisfaction"_

A satisfied Luke and Clementine walked through the woods one winter night, approximately 12 months after they had first joined Wellington. Luke with around 5 squirrels and Clementine with two raccoons. It had been a good day hunting and Clementine was improving her aim with the bow and arrow by the day. She was telling Luke about how she hoped Sarah would come with them into the woods one day.

"I know it's safe back there, but I want her to learn too Luke, I..." Clementine paused there as she stepped onto something crunchy. After seeing what it was she yelped and scrambled backwards in horror. Luke yelping and bellowing "Shit!" at the site of the man. Lying dead in the foliage with half of his brains blown out, clearly this was caused by a gunshot.

_"Amateur Science"_

The woods... it was a quiet place. Others usually hunted alongside Luke and Clementine. Strangers who they didn't know by name, but by face. Clementine had seen this middle aged man before, he was a quiet man. Who generally hunted alone seeing him in Wellington he didn't appear to have any family or friends with him and everyone was so busy working almost all the time. That if people wanted to interact they would do so with their own group, everyone kept to their group's here. Well near enough everyone.

This lonely man had certainly interacted within someone else tonight.

_"We do what we must, because, we can"_

"This blood's still warm Clem, this was a recent kill. With a gun as well, probably a twelve gauge at close range. Blew half this guy's head off..." Luke muttered in horror. Dipping his fingers in the blood to test how warm it was, wiping the blood on a nearby leaf he turned to Clementine.

"Luke, I thought... I thought only policemen were allowed guns in here" Clementine squeaked in horror.

"Me too Clem, but this is a murder. Fuck Clem, we gotta go alert everyone" Luke instructed and so they ran out of the forest and straight to where the new police centre had been recently built, but they weren't the only one's there. Two other men were stood babbling to a police officer as he calmly took notes, barging up to the desk Luke managed to splutter out to the woman there what they had seen. At which point the two men babbling to the police officer turned to face them.

"Y-you saw a body too?" one of them asked Luke. Clementine knew these two slightly chubby men they were part of a large group like her's who they would see quite often while hunting.

"Yeah, one guy with his brains blown out" Luke informed them.

"We fucking came across three! Three! And another guy has just been taken in for questioning, he saw another body too. Five murders! Fuckin' Five! Can you believe it!? All with gun wounds, all the victims were people who weren't part of a group, this is going to make the Wellington Weekly tomorrow, that's for damn sure..."

He was right, the Wellington Weekly was a newspaper set up by some Journalistic minds in Wellington to keep everyone across this vast community up to date on the latest news.

**"KILLER SLAYS FIVE IN FOREST!"**

**"LONERS PUT TO DEATH!"**

**"FIRST MURDERS IN 12 MONTHS!"** The headlines screamed.

_"For the good of all of us_

_Except the one's who are dead"_

It went on, another body was found in the gutter of a woman who was without a group. The pattern was obvious, wounds from a gun were always present on their bodies when they were found and they were always people who were alone. Lone wolves put to death.

When the death toll reached 10 that's when panic seeped in, distrust spread like wildfire across Wellington. Especially amongst the police and guards the one's who were allowed access to guns. Clementine's group kept to themselves anyway but after the 10 murders, nobody wanted to be associated with them. Especially because they had a policeman in their group.

_"But there's no sense crying over every mistake"_

"Someone could have fucking stolen the gun! I don't know why the fuck we're getting so much hate!" Nick would spit to the group.

"Stealing a gun ten times though? I'm surprised no one heard a gunshot go off or anything" Rebecca said letting her thoughts be known.

If construction workers had worked fast beforehand, it was nothing to how fast they worked now. and the group were thankful to finally leave their tent behind and enter a newly built house for them. With six bedrooms, two bathrooms a kitchen and living area and they even got a little garden (which was more a piece of grass than anything else, but it was still nice). Clementine and Sarah shared one room, Nick and Stephanie shared a double bed in the second room. Luke and Eddie would share single beds in the third bedroom, Rebecca would take the fourth. AJ and Lilly the fifth and Molly the sixth. It was a cosy little arrangement, they were all happy with.

But with so many people now moving out of tents and into houses, they all grew more isolated. Only coming out to work and not socialise any sense of community seemingly died in those few quiet months. The murders stopped, which was one plus point.

_"You just keep on trying, till you run out of cake"_

_"and the science gets done" _

_"and you make a neat gun"_

* * *

16 months after joining Wellington is when Clementine started to notice her body changing, she had her first period shortly after they arrived at Wellington (in which Rebecca guided her through) but looking in the mirror one morning she noticed her body changing. The breasts were starting to develop and she also noticed how thin her face was becoming. The chubby cheeks of childhood were disappearing, being slowly replaced with the face of a woman, she also very aware of how her clothes clung to her. Revealing curves she hadn't had beforehand.

"It's what happens to everyone Clem. Maybe you'll start liking boys soon" Sarah teased her with, she giggled as Clementine whacked her with a pillow. "I'll never be into boys, that's just gross Sarah. They get grumpy, They smell, they're hairy and they have bad breath"

"That's just Nick. Most boys are really nice" Sarah mused, as Clementine rolled her eyes.

"Whatever" she said, ironically echoing Nick in those moments.

Yet whenever Sarah would read a romantic book to her about a couple who got together "Oooh isn't it so cute!" Sarah would squeal, Clementine would feel her heart flutter slightly as well. Although this would never show on her seemingly bored face, and sometimes when Sarah would collect posters of boys in bands that were long gone Clementine face would flush slightly. As she started to dream about a handsome boy that would one day love her and repeat the tales she heard in Sarah's collection of novels. (Novels and posters were available treats from newly set up shops).

Currency was brought back into the system, so "money" was back in business. Except they didn't use dollars anymore, no. Some bright spark decided that simple silver screws accounted as currency. You earned screws by how many hours you worked, 1 screw was usually enough to buy general food or spare gifts such as worn out posters and books. Clementine was always amazed at how the system worked yet it was very simple, everyone's currency was screws. Nothing else. There was no golden screws that were worth 100 screws or anything like that. No it was a very basic system to understand.

The richer you were, the more screws you had to carry.

Shops and Currency was reintroduced at the 17 month point, meaning Clem and Luke didn't hunt in the forest, or work as much in the fields anymore. But there was always some job to do.

Then, somebody set up a bar. A bar that sold alcohol, the men rejoiced. Luke, Nick and Eddie were present at the grand opening at first it seemed like a jolly event. Until that was Nick returned home with black eye and bleeding lip "S...mbody... acc... acc...used me! of being the murderer!" he drunkenly slurred to Stephanie who helped him upstairs. Luke had been supporting him, as soon as Stephanie took Nick of his hands. He collapsed on the nearest sofa.

"Where's Eddie?" Rebecca asked him (she was the only one awake at the time. As Nick's loud entrance had awoken the children as they cried she tended to them).

"B-back... back at the b-bar..." Luke slurred, almost as drunk as Nick himself before he simply collapsed on the sofa and starting snoring.

Rebecca marched off to the place and found Eddie in the intimate embrace of a woman who must have been about 60, who was peeling off her clothes, grabbing a startled Eddie by the ear. Rebecca dragged him through the jeering crowds and back home where he drunkly ranted "I WAS GONNA GET LAID REBECCA! I WANTED IT! YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT'S BEEN SINCE I LAST GOT LUCKY WITH A WOMAN!?"

"Eddie honey, believe me when I say you can do much better than that piece of trash you were with" Was Rebecca's stern argument.

"BUT...!?"

"But nothing, I've heard things about that woman. Seen her around a few times as well and believe you me I did you a favour". Rebecca stated.

So she had, that 60 year old woman turned out to be HIV positive and she had gotten with another young man at the end of the night. All the details were splashed on the Wellington weekly the next day. Because her, the man she was with and two others were found murdered in that drunken ramble of the night.

More murders. More panic.

_"For the people who are still alive"_

* * *

"I DIDN'T DO IT... I DIDN'T STEAL...!"

CRACK!

It wasn't humane and it was especially hard for Stephanie to watch, having managed to control her own kleptomania watching another thief who was caught stealing bread to feed his sick daughter, was being executed. It wasn't humane but it was justifiable considering the man had stolen the piece of bread from another starving, sickly 4 year old boy.

**"FIRST PUNISHMENT IN WELLINGTON!" **The headlines imploded with pictures of the man hanging from the noose.

It was on the crowd that day, that Clementine noticed him.

He was gazing at the man on the noose, a look of pure hatred in his single brown eye, his other eye was gone. A massive scar shone on his face down from his forehead and across to the bridge of his nose. Like Sarah he was also missing an arm, but he was missing his right arm yet he held himself as those he still had both. He had shaven head prickled with black hairs and looked Mexican in ethnicity. He had to be about Sarah's age or slightly older. Something about this boy and the new group (Clementine noticed) splashed around him. Caught her attention.

Without any warning the boy's eye rolled towards her, for a second they store at each other before Clementine looked away.

_"Go ahead and leave me" _

_"I prefer, to stay, inside" _

The new group however soon became the least of Clementine's concerns, executions soon became daily. And what was worse was that it because it was justified, people starting doing horrendous things. Injuring, stealing, robbing, some corrupt officials starting paying attractive young women extra screws (money) in return for other services. Prostitution sprang up and then somehow drugs came into the mix. Nick had busted a house where they grew cannabis plants in the attic. What was worse was that the culprit was a fellow police officer, who was apprehended and executed.

But he used his gun to shoot Nick in the shoulder beforehand, Nick laughed it off, but spent two weeks in the Wellington's hospital recovering with Stephanie nursing over him. Usually bringing Lilly who had learned to walk by this point and babble a few words, Nick and Stephanie sort of adopted Lilly as their daughter.

Whoever the original **"Wellington Wolf"** was (the name for the original killer), he or she had brought about the downfall of Wellington and not been caught. Not even to this day.

* * *

"Ma-ma... Ed...die!" Eddie clapped and swung a 3 year old Alvin around in his arms as he bellowed "That's my little man! Say it again!"

"Eddie!" AJ said clearly, laughing himself as he got the name right. Rebecca was "aww"-ing at the scene. While AJ was telling Eddie and Rebecca "I have a good first day at school mummy, I like the teacher, she is... nice" he babbled sticking his finger in his mouth as he spoke.

The junior school had opened yesterday, AJ had been sent off for his first day with his little green backpack and blue coat, AJ may have had his father's eyes but he certainly took his after his mother in terms of how sassy he could be "another boy try to steal my sandwich, I say NO! BAD!" AJ shouted slamming his fist down on the table causing most of the household to burst into laughter.

"Mummy... mummy I... I want to go to skwool" Lilly drooled, at nearly two she was very knowledgeable in her words, she was sat on Stephanie's lap. With her biological father's old cap still on her head. She never let it out of her sight and generally had a Kenny sized tantrum when it did.

"You have to wait until your second birthday Lilly, okay? Then you can go to school" Stephanie told her adopted daughter.

"But I want to be two now!" Lilly demanded, as she turned to where Nick was still sat on the sofa "Daddy when do I turn two?"

"In a few weeks Lilly, don't worry then you'll be able to go school, okay?" Nick told her, as he leant back at rubbed his still aching shoulder. Lilly may have been a full on diva at times. But Sarita's maternal instinct passed on to her daughter as she gripped crawled onto Nick's chest and muttered "Are you okay Daddy?"

"I'm fine honey" Nick responded, yet alone he laughed when Lilly kissed his shoulder before lying down again "There, I kissed it better now!" she mused in excitement as Nick muttered "Oh yes, feeling much better now..."

Even in these dark times, some happiness could be found.

* * *

"NOOOOOOOO!"

It happened far too quickly, Clementine was by the shops. Buying a new book that Sarah wanted, she was walking down the alley between two houses (it was short-cut to get back to her house) from the main road she saw a pregnant woman in front of her get grabbed by three burly men. She screamed for help as Clementine ran forward, ready to help...

Until an arm held her back.

"NO! LET ME GO!" Clementine roared.

The figure didn't release her as Clementine struggled against him, she watched as the one of the men stabbed the pregnant woman until she lay dead on the pavement. With their work swiftly done they hurried back on out of sight, it was only then that the man holding her released her as she ran next to the pregnant woman.

"Oh God..." she whimpered looking down at the gory sight. The men who killed her had long fled, Clementine angrily turned to the figure in the alley, it was the boy with the one eye she saw at the execution. She knew it would be him. She had a gut feeling.

"Why did you hold me back! I could have saved her! and the baby!" Clementine roared, being reminded vividly of the haunting sight of Stephanie's dead foetus back at Howe's.

"You would have run in and gotten yourself killed. That woman was dead no matter what. She was already tangled up in some sort of mess" the boy replied calmly, his voice a very low grumble. Something Clementine wasn't expecting, she always imagined him to sound like Carlos for some strange reason.

"You could have saved her! You simply gave up!" Clementine snapped at him.

"No. She was dead. Pregnant with a baby somebody didn't want. Some rich guy probably had enough screws on him to pay for some hit-men. I hear it's a job that's becoming popular lately" the boy explained, as Clementine sadly shook her head and snarled "They won't get away with it!"

"They will, they get away with it everyday. This place tried, it's failing. The rich and prestigious will prosper"

"How do you know so much!?" Clementine snapped at the mysterious boy, she was fed up of him sounding like a know it all.

"I just do, it's obvious" was his reply, before he coughed and continued "My advice to you girl, is to keep your head down, keep to yourself. If you do that you'll be fine. Try to and play the hero, try to function in this place, like a good little member of the community will get you killed eventually. You wanna live, you better wisen up" he muttered turning on his heel. Clementine was reminded of the stranger and his words about humanity, this boy was just an asshole plain and simple who'd given up hope far too easily.

"You're wrong!" she yelled after him.

"We'll see" he replied, before he walked off back into the darkness of the alley.

_"Maybe you'll find someone else, to help you"_

* * *

Back in present day

Clementine stood there, at the entrance to Wellington high, still shaken up about the murder that occurred right before her eyes a few weeks ago. Hours of police interviews and being comforted by Luke had helped put the problem behind her. But it still lingered in her memory. Despite the increase in crime and foul play in Wellington the school was opening, maybe this would be a step in the right direction, Her first day of school in nearly five years.

"Come on Clem! Let's go in!" Sarah yelled, as Clementine hung back. Luke had said goodbye to them 5 minutes ago before he had gone off to work. (He managed to buy a car with money he saved up, yep cars now drove through the streets. But fuel was damn expensive and in short supply) As Sarah rushed in, Clementine caught sight of the one eyed boy as well.

His group was around him, a plump woman in her fifties who was fussing over him, with his eyes and nose. That must have been his mother or an aunt. Next to them stood African american twins both of these men had to be in their 40's, a bored looking African american woman in her mid twenties, a thin lanky man in his 20's with messy black hair and glasses along with a few facial piercings. Two teenagers stood next to the boy, a handsome boy with stuck up black hairs and a blonde girl next to him, both with the same coloured eyes and similar faces. "Brother and sister" Clementine thought, observing them closely.

Finally there was an older man, wearing overalls and straw height, fussing over a smiling boy with messy blonde hair, a mullet and a small goatee who looked slightly older than Clementine. That was this boy's group then? They didn't look all to intimidating, the ten of them. According to Stephanie they arrived at Wellington four months ago, although she didn't pick up their names she certainly remembered their being ten of them.

That was their group, Clementine walked on into the school trying to shake off the boy's words.

_"We'll see" _

He, the siblings and the boy with the mullet were walking into the school behind her, Clementine ignored them and proceeded towards wherever the hell her class was meant to be. Finding Sarah once again, she mused "Were being called to an assembly, the teachers are going to hand us stuff and books and..."

"Yeah, let's go" Clementine cut short her best friend, as she noticed the other four entering the hallway. Before she could move however a merry voice rang out "HEEEY!" It drawled in most southern accent Clementine had ever heard in her life.

The boy with the mullet had seemingly skipped up to them, before Clementine or Sarah could say a word, he spoke "Hey y'all know where the rootin' hell were meant to be?"

"Were in assembly. They're gathering everyone around, I know where assembly is. You can follow me and Clem if you like" Sarah offered him, with a nod of his head he gasped "Yeah, let's go" he seemed as excited as Sarah was as they walked along the hallway towards the assembly.

The brother and sister hung back, but the boy with the one eye was trailing close to Clementine. Mullet-boy and Sarah had rushed on ahead, leaving Clementine with him. Finally when she couldn't handle it anymore she muttered "I didn't catch your name" to the boy.

"You didn't tell the police I was there on the day" was his reply, avoiding the original question "You kept me out of it. I want to thank you for that, when this place falls I'll be sure to help you in whatever way possible..."

"This place isn't going to fall" Clementine snapped, annoyed at his attitude.

"Just remember whether you want me too or not. I have your back. If you were so confident about this place not falling, you'd have told the police everything. But you didn't, you can see this place failing just as much as I can, I'm trying to help you" his words seemed distant as he puffed them out.

"I don't need your help" Clementine snapped.

_"and believe me I am still alive" _

The boy simply shrugged and repeated his earlier phrase _"We'll see"_

Clementine had gotten her group this damn far, Wellington was their home, stuff was getting worse but her group would pull through.

Wouldn't they?

Wellington would remain standing,

Wouldn't it?

But a tiny part of Clementine knew what was happening, this community of Wellington, just like so many communities before it.

Slowly but surely, it was...

_Going to Ruin._


End file.
